There's Something Weird About John Jones
by CommanderKon
Summary: Chesterwood High was just a normal high school in Rhode Island. Then John Jones turned up in the middle of the semester and Diana, Clark and Bruce couldn't help but feel he was hiding a dark secret. And what a secret it was... JLA High School AU Fic.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello JLA fans. Bear with me since this is my first JLA fic, but it should be fine...right? If you see any grammatical errors, plot lines that don't add up, or any general concerns or ideas, I welcome them. I'm still trying to map out the story details here and am welcome to any of you all. ****  
****In the mean time...Stay Asterous.**

Chapter 1

Diana Prince let out a heavy sigh as her sleek red BMW slid to a stop outside Chesterwood High School. The dull red brick did nothing to make the school look welcoming and the tattered posters outside advertising some after-school clubs looked sad and faded.

Groaning loudly, Diana let her head thud against the steering wheel. She stayed there for several seconds until her phone let up and 'dinged' loudly. Sitting up and spitting her dark hair out of her mouth, she scooped up her phone and smiled upon seeing the message. "Keep your head up, Princess!" read Steve Trevor's message.

Steve was her boyfriend from her old school back in New York. He was two years her senior and currently a freshman at West Point.

"Doing my best," Diana muttered as she quickly tapped on her phone screen. "Smiley face and . . . send."

_Now or never_, Diana thought sullenly to herself. Snatching up her purse, she stuffed her phone inside it and heaved herself out of her car.

Red heels clacked against the pavement as she walked up the steps and through the green doors of Chesterwood High. The doors opened to a white tiled hall lined with green metal doors with several large sports trophy cases pushed against the walls. A tall, dark haired boy was leaning against one of them, gazing forlornly at the huge golden trophies of years past. The front doors clanged shut behind Diana and the boy's head jerked up to look at her.

"Hey, are you Diana?" He called hesitantly as he began to walk towards her.

"Um, yeah that's me." Diana forced a smile.

"Great. I'm Clark. Clark Kent. Member of the Student Welcoming Committee," he said brightly, extending a hand. Clark Kent was one of those guys with the old-fashioned movie star faces framed with black hair, cobalt blue eyes and one of the most chiseled jaws Diana had ever seen His broad shouldered frame stood well over six feet and rippled with powerful muscles. Diana looked down at his large hand with was still held out in a gesture of friendship. She hesitated for a moment, stole a quick look at the goofy grin plastered across his face, before taking his hand in a strong grip. Clark squeezed her hand back in a surprisingly equally, if not more, powerful handshake than she had shown him. Clark continued to smile that stupid, cheesy smile and Diana decided she liked Clark Kent.

"So, Principal Waller gave me your schedule in advance so I could show you around. I suppose she doesn't want you to get lost. It's easy to get lost in here 'cause it's so big. But you're in my homeroom and English class, and a bunch of my friends are I your classes," Clark said conversationally. "You'll be fine. You got here right at the end of first period, which is homeroom. It's basically free period for us 'cause our teacher is awesome. Ms. Green, you'll love her – right here! On your left." He stopped at one door and pulled it open. Gesturing wordlessly for her to walk in first, Diana took the lead and entered the room first. The room itself was a small, well-light room crammed with desks and about fifteen or so students. Maps and newspaper articles were tacked to the wall and ceiling and made the rooms seem even smaller than it actually was. A small woman dressed in a purple pant suit glanced up as Clark and Diana entered.

"You must be Diana?" She asked. Without waiting for Diana to answer, the woman continued. "Lovely. I'm Ms. Green, your Constitutional Law teacher and homeroom supervisor. This is homeroom, where you will spend first period of every day." She gestured dramatically to the room at large. "Please take a seat anywhere."

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone," Clark muttered, tugging Diana over to a group near the back of the room.

"-and then I was like, dude, I'm running here, what's your problem? Move! And the guy gave me a what-the-hell kind of look and just stood there like some idiot!" A lanky looking red headed boy was saying to rather bored looking dark skinned boy.

"Excuse me, everyone? Hi." Clark gave a little wave. "This is Diana Prince. She just moved here from, er, where'd you say you moved here from?" He looked at her apologetically.

"New York City."

'Whoa. So, you moved to Rhode Island?" The red-head looked slightly skeptical. "Damn. Why? New York is New York. Whatever. I'm Wally West. Track star, booty dancer and professional bad ass." He said matter-of-factly.

Diana raised an eyebrow. "Booty dancer?"

"Don't ask," the black boy advised. "John Stewart. The two blondes making love eyes to each other are Dinah and Oliver, and the other blonde in the corner who looks like he's high in Arthur."

"Why do you always say I look high?" Arthur shouted from the other side of the room.

""Cause you are!" John yelled back. Sighing, he continued. "You already know Mr. Boy Scout Kent – "

"Dude, I quit Scouts last year."

"Exactly."

"Shut up," Clark muttered. "Hmm who else do you need to know. . .? Dinah, Wally, oh, Bruce! Bruce is the guy in the corner reading some book on the history of Zimbabwe or something."

"Typical Bruce Wayne," Wally grumped.

"Bruce Wayne?" Diana repeated incredulously. "The millionaire? I thought he lived in Gotham City? Shouldn't he be at Gotham Academy instead of public school?"

"You would think." John shrugged.

"I heard he got kicked out of Gotham Academy for punching the principal," Wally said as he conjured a chocolate bar from a pocket and began eating it nonchalantly.

"That's the sixth chocolate bar you've had this morning Wally…" John looked at Wally in disgust as the red head took a massive bite out of the candy bar.

"Shut up _mom_," Wally grunted around a mouth full of chewed food. "Crazy high metabolism, remember?"

"Riiight." Clark rolled his eyes.

"What? You don't believe me-"

Wally's indignant protests were cut off by the shrill sound of the bell.

"Okay," Clark said as he peered at Diana's schedule. "You've got Environmental Science next with John and Arthur, so you're good. Arthur's a real nice guy once you get past his whole stuck up attitude he's got going on. He's captain of the swim team, and in his mind that pretty much makes him royalty."

"Do you play any sports, Clark?" Diana asked as she slipped her back around her shoulders.

"I'm quarterback for the football team," Clark said, a spark of pride coming into his eyes. He paused for a minute. "You know, there's a spot open on the cheerleading squad if you want to join. To make friends and all!" He added hastily at the end.

"Cheerleading is a complete and utter waste of time that is only taken up by incompetent fools that enjoy it merely because they are allowed to strut around in miniskirts during school hours," a voice behind the pair snapped.

Diana glanced over her shoulder to see Bruce Wayne standing there, dark brows narrowed at them and his book hanging loosely at his side.

"Way to be a party pooper, Bruce," Clark said dryly. "This is Diana Prince. Diana, Bruce."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Diana said brightly, extending a hand to the young billionaire.

"I'm sure it is," Bruce replied coolly, ignoring her hand and brushing past her rudely to stalk out of the room.

Clark sighed. "Sorry about that. Bruce has been in a bad mood for the past nine years. His parents were killed when he was eight. Kind of ruined his life from then on."

Diana's eyebrows arched in shock at this news. Hurrying to the door, she stared down the hall after the boy, his shadowy form silhouetted against the bright light, and she thought she had never seen someone so unhappy.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:I am so sorry for the delay. I meant to have this up weeks ago, but I lost my journal that I had written it down in, and then I had Comic Con last weekend and exams this past week. Excuses, excuses, excuses. Anyway, it's summer now, so I'll definatly have a lot more time to update. Let's say...updats every Friday! Sounds good? Good. If I don't meet that, you all have permission to come to my house and beat me with sticks. . . Yep. **

Chapter 2

Diana's first week at Chesterfield High progressed smoothly. For the most part, thestudent population was friendly enough. A bit stuck-up and full of it, but hey, that was most teenagers. Diana mainly stuck with Clark and his group of friends. She was surprised to find Clark was not part of the stereotypical "popular group" of the school. His friends all seem pretty diverse in personalities and what they did in their free time.

Wally was the talkative one in the group. He was the self-proclaimed "Fastest Man Alive "and the star of the track team. He was indeed a booty dancer and took classes at the local recreation center every Sunday afternoon, but Diana doubted he actually enjoyed them and probably only took them as a way to pick up chicks.

John was one of the grumpier ones in their little gang, but was known to crack a smile once in a while. He was in the school's ROTC group and almost cemented to the idea of joining the military along with his friend Hal Jordan once they got out of school. John was currently in an "it's complicated" sort of relationship with a girl by the name of Shayera Hol. Shayera was loud, abrasive and captain of the girl's wrestling team. Still, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and Diana respected her for that.

Arthur was another one. Clark wasn't joking when he said the guy acted like royalty. His status as swim team captain made him practically King of the school in his mind. His self-dubbed title the "King of Atlantis" did nothing to help his image. Still, it was amusing to see him face go beat red whenever someone mocked him. On the third day Diana was at Chesterfield, Wally made a fake crown for Arthur to wear that read 'KING OF THE SEAHORSES'. Clark later found it stuffed into one of the toilets in the boy's locker room. He made Wall apologize, but Diana questioned the redhead's sincerity.

Bruce was easily someone who hung out with the others just as way to not be branded as a loser. He acted like he didn't care for the rest of the group at all, but it seemed to Diana that he must, or else he would have ditched them long ago. He was the closest to Clark out of anyone in the group; they were often mistaken for brothers. Whenever something was bugging Bruce, (well, something more than usual) the two would disappear for an hour or so and come back looking significantly happier. It was long suspected they were having sex marathons in the third-floor maintenance closet, which was a rumor Diana highly doubted. In the short time Diana had been there, she already knew that Clark had a massive thing for one of his co-writers on the school newspaper, Lois Lane.

Lunches were always the most interesting part of the day. Their "group" was always changing from day-to-day due to people having different lunches, or clubs, or just other people they wanted to sit with. This particular day, October 5, a few weeks after she transferred to Chesterfield High was no different.

"Man, this is some crap food," Wally complained as he dumped chocolate ice cream onto his small slice of cheese pizza.

"Gee, I wonder why," Shayera remarked sarcastically as she eyed the dripping brown glob pooling over the side of the pizza and into Wally's salad.

Wall jabbed a sticky brown finger at the other redhead. "Shut up. The ice cream makes it slightly better." With his other hand, he shoveled the pizza into his mouth and sighed contently.

"That's disgusting," Shayera said bluntly to him as Clark, John and Oliver made their way over the table and sat down.

"Man, I hate Principal Waller," Clark said darkly.

"Wow," Oliver said in mock shock. "Clark Kent is capable of hating someone. Amazing."

"I'm serious!" Clark insisted. "She gave me detention again for being 'suspicious' and acting like 'a threat to the American people'."

"She honestly said that?" Diana asked, not sure whether to believe him or not.

"Yep. Here, take a look." Fishing around in his pocket for a minute, Clark drew out a crumpled-up detention slip and spread it out on the table for all to see.

"Well, would you look at that. . ." John said thoughtfully.

"'Threat to the American people'," Clark muttered under his breath. "That makes me seem like some sort of alien!"

"Yes, and we can't have that," Shayera said dryly.

Wall took another huge bite of his ice cream-pizza and said, "I heard she used to work for the government." He nodded, eyes wide, as if to emphasize his point.

"Where do you get all of your information?" Oliver asked, sounding amused. "First last year you said Shayera was a lesbian sumo wrestler, then that story that Bruce punched his old principal-"

"And where did you hear that from?" Bruce said quietly from behind Wally. Both Wall and Oliver froze and revolved to stare at Bruce with terror in their eyes as he took the last empty seat next to Clark.

"Well?" Bruce looked at the two, eyebrows raised.

"Layoff, Bruce," Clark said, giving his friend a teasing look. Bruce gave the two another formidable glare before unfolding his napkin, placing it delicately in his lap and digging quietly into his salad.

"So," Shayera said hastily, in order to avoid any awkward silences. "How's football going, Clark?"

"Great, actually," Clark said enthusiastically. "Coach is really pushing us in practice, but we're doing great. Might actually have a shot at the championship this year."

"Great," Shayera said, raising her arms up to the sky. "We need a Chesterfield win. Haven't had one in years!" She told Diana pointedly. "You're still on the team, right John? And so is Hal?" She barked at John.

"So am I!" Oliver interjected.

"Yea, but you're not any good," Bruce said bluntly.

"What? And you're a good soccer player? And a good martial artist?' Oliver shot back.

"I'm sure he'd be good if he played those sports," Diana said, giving Bruce a helpful smile, and was surprised to see Bruce looking at her with a rather annoyed expression.

"I've been playing soccer for the past five years, and I've been taking martial arts since I was nine," Bruce said coolly.

Diana's spirits fell. "I didn't know you played sports," Diana said in a small voice.

"I didn't feel it was important for you to know," Bruce said, sounding bored.

There was an awkward silence for a minute as Bruce continued to eat his salad and Diana looked at him with a confused look on her face. Then Clark loudly said, "Golly, look at the time! We've got English, don't we Bruce? Come on!" He seized Bruce by the arm and tugged him away from the table. Bruce did not move and gave Clark a very dirty look. He swallowed his food and said:

"Diana's in our class, dumb-ass, so we might as well wait for her. However if you really do want to go ahead, you can. Though I don't know why you would want to; Mr. Tetch is an idiot."

Clark looked rather hopeless for a minute, but begrudgingly sat down again. Diana quietly packed up her lunch bag and tossed the trash into the garbage bin a few feet away.

"Never mind, I'm done," Bruce said coolly. Scooping up his trash with one hand and his backpack with the other, he threw his trash away and headed out of the cafeteria.

"Coming, Kent?" He shouted over his shoulder.

Clark sighed loudly and gave Diana an apologetic look. "Come on, he's already in a bad mood. Let's not make him angrier."

"When is he not in a bad mood?" Wally called after them. "He's a nightmare, honestly!"

"I heard that, West!"

"Damn."

As they headed into the English room, Bruce in the lead and Clark and Diana trailing behind him, Diana couldn't help but feeling like Bruce didn't like her very much. Then again, Bruce didn't like anyone very much. Except maybe Clark. It was too bad. He wasn't a bad looking guy. In fact, now that Diana looked at him, he was pretty hot. She examined the back of his head closely. His hair was thick and cropped short to his head so it appeared straight, but Diana could see wisps of curls at the base of his neck where he had let some of the hair grow out. Her eyes trailed down his chiseled features and down to his lean frame.

_Wow, he has got some muscles…_ She thought to herself as she appraised the boy's body. She was just beginning to examine his lower back very closely when Bruce's voice interrupted her.

"Diana, what are you doing?"

Clark and Bruce had stopped a few feet into the classroom and were both staring at her. Bruce looked rather confused, while Clark's cheeks were turning pink in his discomfort. He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot and averted his eyes from Diana's. Bruce's right eyebrow arched slightly as he continued to look at Diana.

"Oh, I was er, observing you," Diana said, grinning sheepishly. "What can I say?" She laughed awkwardly.

His eyebrow arched higher.

Diana's eyes grew wide as she realized what she just said. "I did not mean that," she said abruptly. "I meant, I was just-nothing really-just-"

's high pitched squeak suddenly interrupted Diana's babble. "Settle down children. Settle down." The small man scurried around Diana and over to the desk. Giving the trio a hasty look, he said "Sit down Wayne, Kent. And Miss Prince," he added at the end, voice becoming smoother, silkier. "Sit."

Bruce and Clark exchanged looks, but dutifully headed to their seats. Diana immediately mind-slapped herself as soon as their backs were turned.

_Great, now Bruce thinks I was checking him out. Lovely._

Still not believing her own stupidity, Diana took her seat next to Clark. Bruce was in front of her sitting next to a small, blonde girl named Alice. His back was to her, but judging by his rigid shoulders, he was annoyed with her. Diana debated about leaning forward to whisper an apology, but somehow she doubted that would help the already extremely awkward situation.

"Please open your copies of Alice in Wonderland to Chapter Six," Mr. Tetch drawled, flipping through his own pristine copy of the book. His eyes darted up to the class suddenly. "I assume you all have your books."

There were a few mutters from the class as they shuffled through their books.

"You all have your books, right?" Mr. Tetch repeated, voice growing harder.

"Yes, Mr. Tetch!" Alice piped up from in front of Diana.

"Lovely." Tetch smiled widely at her. "My dear, would you like to come up and read to the class? Just a few pages, that's all!"

"Well, okay!" Alice bounced up from her chair and skipped up to the front of the class, book in hand. Opening it, the blonde opened her mouth to begin reading when a sudden knock sounded at the door.

Tetch groaned under his breath , then slunk to the door. Throwing the door open, he snarled "What?"

"Am I interrupting something, Mr. Tetch?" Amanda Waller asked coldly from the door.

"Oh, Principal Waller!" Tetch suddenly sounded terrified. Diana didn't blame him. Waller had a formidable reputation, and the rumors of her being a former CIA agent did nothing to help. "No," Tetch said nervously. "It's fine. Do come in."

"This is a classroom, Tetch, not your home," Waller said, but stepped inside nonetheless. Looking behind her, she barked, "Come on Jones, don't be shy!" From behind her, a tall, black boy with solemn eyes and high cheekbones stepped into the room. His eyes flickered around the classroom, then back down to the floor.

"This," Waller said, clapping a hand to the boy's shoulders, "is John Jones. He's a new transfer student. Jones, tell your new class a little about you, why don't you?"

John said nothing, just continued to stare at the flecks of dirt squashed into the floor.

"Jones, we don't have all day." Waller looked extremely bored as she glanced at the battered clock on the wall. "Tell them where you're from."

John's eyes grew wide as he looked at her in slight panic. "I'm from-from-from-" His eyes darted around the room in a frenzy. "Canada!" He finally blurted out. "I'm from Canada!"

"That's near Malaysia, right?" Alice asked, blue eyes looking at the new boy in earnest.

"Of course it is, my dear," Tetch purred from his desk.

"For the love of-" Waller muttered underneath her breath. "Take a seat Jones. Welcome to Chesterfield. I'm sure you'll love it." Wrenching the door open, she gave the class one more look-over, then slammed it shut on her way out.

John Jones stood awkwardly at the front of the room for a moment or two, clutching his book bag to his chest.

"Well," Mr. Tetch sighed. "I guess you should take a seat. Kent!" He barked. "Give your seat to Jones."

"Where am I going to sit, then?" Clark asked, sounding both amused and annoyed.

"You can come sit up here by me," Tetch tapped the seat directly in front of his desk. "Just so I can keep an eye on you and make sure you don't get into any mischief."

With a groan, Clark gathered up his books and heaved himself out of his chair. "Why do all the teachers think I'm up to no good?" Diana heard him mutter under his breath. He gave a polite smile to John as the dark skinned boy slipped past him and into Clark's now vacant seat. John gave a small nod in Diana's direction before assuming a dead pan look at the white board.

"Okay, Jones, do you have a copy of Alice in Wonderland with you today?" Tetch asked as he settled himself on top of his desk.

John looked in confusion at Diana, then back to Tetch. "I am sorry, what?"

"Alice in Wonderland." Tetch looked suspiciously at John. "You do know what that is, right?"

"Of-of course!" John stuttered. "Why not! We have that in-in Canada. Yes, Canada. I am from Canada."

Tetch stared at him for a moment. "You don't know what Alice in Wonderland is, do you?"

"No, sir."

"Okay, " Tetch groaned. "Wayne, give Jones your book. You can share with someone else for the rest of class."

"But, what about my book?" Bruce asked, sounding extremely bored.

"You can just buy a new one." Tetch smiled unpleasantly. "Your parents left you all that money, did they not?"

Bruce's eyes narrowed with dislike as he glared at the smaller man. "Yes, sir, they did," he growled through gritted teeth.

"Then you can just buy a new one." Tetch continued to smile unpleasantly. "Now give your book to Jones."

Moving jerkily, Bruce turned around and thrust his book at John, avoiding eye contact with both him and Diana.

"Bruce?" Diana whispered. "Are you-?'

"Shut your damn mouth Diana. I'm fine!" Bruce snapped.

"Mr. Tetch!" John suddenly said loudly. "May I make a trip to the loo?" He looked sideways at Diana. "Now?"

"The loo?" Someone asked. "What? How did you learn to talk? By watching the BBC?"

"Um." John swallowed. Diana could practically see his heart hammering he looked so nervous.

"Yes, Jones, you may go to the loo," Tetch said as he flipped through his book with Alice peering over his shoulder. "Make it fast."

John bolted out of his chair and out the door faster than Diana could blink.

"The loo?" Someone at the back of the class repeated incredulously. "He isn't even British! Freak…"

Someone next to Diana slipped a note onto her desk. With fumbling fingers, she opened it to see Clark's neat handwriting.

**Well, that was weird. **

_Weird indeed._ Diana thought to herself.

**There's something up with John.** She hastily scribbled back. **Something big.**

And she was determined to find out what.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's Chapter 3. To be honest, I don't love it. It's pretty fillerish until the end part, but oh well. It moves the story along.  
Reviews are very much appreciated, and enjoy!**

Chapter 3

Finding out what was up with John turned out to be a lot harder than Diana had thought. He was quiet, never spoke unless spoken to, and even then it was in one or two word sentences. He never raised his hand in class, he always turned his homework in on time, and he wasn't involved in any extracurricular activities. He was frankly, the most boring person Diana had ever met. When she casually asked him a personal question during lunch, he would give her a look of pure terror and mutter something under her breath. He particularly avoided the topics of Canada, his family, and his home life.

Even _Bruce _talked about himself a little. John? Nope. Nothing. It was infuriating.

During a P.E. class out on the track in late November, Diana was thinking about it and got so frustrated she took her shoe off and chucked it halfway across the field, terrifying a few freshmen nearby. She scowled darkly at them and they cautiously scurried to other side of the track.

"You okay, Diana?" Wally asked, peering into her face with a look of concern on his.

"What? Yeah. I'm fine!" Diana said hurriedly. "Why-why would something be wrong with me? Nothing is wrong. It's just. . ." She trailed off, looking pointedly away from Wally. Sighing heavily, she started again. "It's John. Something is up with _him_."

"Well, yea something is wrong with him. He and Shayera have been having issues again. Too bad, if you ask me. She's a hot babe," Wally mused to himself.

Diana looked at him for minute. "What -OH! No, Wally, wrong John. I'm talking about John Jones."

Wally froze. Then, he let out a loud, awkward laugh. "Yea, I knew that! Duh. Mr. Canadian. Heh, yep. Totally knew that. I was just making sure you were paying attention."

"Of course you were, Wally," Diana told him sympathetically. "You know, I really should go get my shoe…" She tapped her chin, looking at Wally suggestively.

"I'LL GET IT!" Wally shouted abruptly, sprinting down the track to retrieve the thrown shoe.

"Stupid fool," Arthur muttered from behind Diana.

"Relax. It's Wally," Diana said. "You expect anything different?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Arthur sniffed. "I am well aware of that boy's mental capabilities and they are far from adequate."

Diana's eyes narrowed. "Hey, don't talk about Wally that way. He's smart!"

"I wasn't doubting his intelligence," Arthur said coolly, smoothing his blonde hair back with one hand.

"I think you were!" Diana said, voice rising.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's the problem?" Wally had returned. He held Diana's shoe in one hand and was looking from Arthur to Diana in slight confusion.

"Nothing," Arthur said coldly. "I was just leaving." Heaving himself up from his spot on the bleachers, he stalked away.

Diana's eyes narrowed at his retreating back. It wasn't that she didn't _like_ Arthur, he just wasn't her favorite person on the planet. He was closer to John S. and Clark than her. She just tolerated him because he didn't have that many friends other than them. He had his girlfriend, Mera, but she lived in another nearby town, and most of the guys on the swim team couldn't stand him. It was sad, really. He wasn't a bad looking guy at all, but his pompous manner and tendency to wear orange and green clothing (together) repulsed girls and made guys question his sexuality.

"Hey, Earth to Diana!" Wally waved his hand in front of her blank face a few times until she jolted back to reality. "Wow. What is up with you today? You keep spacing out."

"Sorry," Diana muttered, reaching up to rub her temples with her fingers. "I'm just tired. I was up late last night working on my Science research paper." That was a blatant lie. She actually spent the whole night looking for John Jones' address in the phone book, to no avail.

But Wally looked convinced. "I know what you mean. Ms. Isley's Environmental Science class is intense. She's hot, though. Hey!" he suddenly said. "Do you have a date for the Winter Wonderland dance?"

_Damn. _"Oh, I don't know if I'm going to go, Wally. I'm sorry." Wally was a nice guy, but Diana had no intention of going to a dance with a guy who ate ice cream and sprinkles on pizza for lunch every day.

"Oh, come on, Diana! You have to go!" Wally cried. "You already missed homecoming! There's just the Winter Wonderland and then prom. Please go! And," he added at the end. "_I_ wasn't going to ask you to the dance. I know you want to go with _Bruce_."

Diana let out a squeak of shock at his words. "B-B-Bruce? Why would you think that? I don't like Bruce! Pft!"

"Liar," Wally teased. "Everyone knows it. Probably him, too. I recommend you ask him soon because half the girls in the school are going to go after him the week before the dance. And he's not going to ask you. You have to go to him."

"I don't like him!" Diana insisted, only to give a huff when Wally waggled his eyebrows at her and made kissing noises. "You're impossible," she told him.

"I know," Wally said slyly, fluttering his eyebrows at her.

"Prince! West! Get off your butts and move! You're supposed to be running!" Coach Turpin barked at them from the other side of the track.

Heaving sighs, the two heaved themselves up from their seats on the bleachers and trudged onto the track. Wally sprinted ahead to show off for the cheerleaders, but Diana hung back, her head now aching with her new problem. How in earth was she going to get _Bruce Wayne_ to agree to go to the dance with her?

* * *

Lunch was right after PE. It was rather unfortunate for her, seeing as she smelled like sweat and looked like she had just run a marathon no matter how much perfume and deodorant she put on. Especially today. It was definitely not working in her favor.

Wally had raced to the gym in order to get first in the lunch line and was already sitting down when Diana got there. He was talking animatedly to Clark and Bruce about something, waving his hands around and almost smacking a passing sophomore in the face. As he apologized to the furious girl repeatedly, he caught sight of Diana and grinned wickedly at her.

"Hi, Diana!" He said loudly. "Look, Bruce! It's Diana! Imagine that!" Darting over to her, he seized her arms and dragged her to the table. "Here, my dear lady, take that seat right next to Bruce."

Groaning internally, Diana took the seat next to the handsome, ebony haired boy. "Hi Bruce!" She said with forced cheeriness, taking her lunch out of her bag as she did so.

"Hello, Diana," Bruce replied in a monotone, not looking up from his usual salad.

"Clark!" Wally shouted. "Let us go to the lunch line and marvel at its wonders!"

"What does that even mean?" Clark asked in bewilderment as Wally practically carried him away from the table.

"So," Diana began as soon as Clark's progressively fading protests were drowned out by the chatter of the surrounding students. "You... excited for the dance?"

Bruce shrugged. "A bit. Clark is making me go. Something about me needing a social life."

"But you play sports," Diana said, smiling slightly. "That not enough for the boy scout?"

"Apparently not," Bruce muttered, taking a sip of his water.

Another awkward silence fell between them.

"So, back to the dance," Diana said hesitantly. "Do you maybe want to-"

"Bruce!" A loud voice suddenly gushed from behind them.

A tall, gorgeous girl was strutting toward them. Green eyes sparkled in a pale face framed by short, cropped black hair. Her red lips twisted into a smirk as she came to a stop next to their table.

"Hello, Bruce!" She purred as she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him gently on the cheek. The girl looked at Diana out of the corner of her eye. "So, who are you?"

"Sorry," Bruce said, smiling slightly at her. "This is Diana Prince, a classmate of mine. Diana, this is Selina Kyle, my. . . "

"Girlfriend," Selina said, smiling broadly.

_Classmate? Girlfriend? _

"Oh, Bruce. I didn't know you had a girlfriend," Diana said, trying desperately to hide her crushed feelings.

"She's a junior. She just got moved to this lunch, so that's why you never saw her much," Bruce said as Selina situated herself in his lap and stole a bit of his salad.

"Right." Diana said quietly, taking a bite of her sandwich to fill the upcoming awkward silence. In her peripheral vision, she could see Wally and Clark in the lunch line, the former looking stunned and the latter looking sympathetically at her. _I'm sorry. _He mouthed to her. Diana smiled miserably back him and mouthed '_Thanks'. _Then, she caught sight of a certain anti-social, Canadian transfer student from behind the two.

"Hi John!" Diana exploded, waving her hands wildly above her head. John assumed a deer-in-the-headlights look as he stared back at her.

"Here, come sit next to me!" She screamed across the lunch room. "Right here!"

Bruce and Selina had stopped their cuddling and were both staring at her with "How-the-hell-do-we-know-her?" looks on their faces. Diana smiled weakly at them as John stumbled over the table, hands clutching his lunch tray tightly.

"Hi, John!" Diana gushed. "Have you met Bruce's _girlfriend _Selina? I just did and isn't she_ great_? Just great." She laughed loudly at the end of this outburst.

John looked to Bruce to support but received none from the equally stunned boy. "Um." He swallowed. "Yes, Selina is very nice."

Suddenly, one of those ideas that only come to you when you're furious hit Diana like a ton of bricks. "Hey John! You want to go to the Winter Wonderland with me?"

John's eyes widened in shock. Diana turned to look at Bruce and Selina, who both looked astounded. "Isn't that a great idea, Bruce?" Diana asked him sweetly. "Do you have any objections?"

Diana could practically see the gears in Bruce's head working to figure out what was going on. Then, something clicked and Bruce's face hardened. "No," he said coldly. "None at all."

Diana smiled at him. "Lovely. John, you in?"

John's mouth opened and closed several times without making any noise, which Diana took as a yes.

"Great! It'll be fun. See you later, John! Bruce, Selina, have fun." Snatching up her lunch, she got up and stalked way from the table, eyes brimming with tears. Diana brushed past Wally and Clark who were standing stock still in line, with the latter looking extremely disappointed with her as she walked past. Exchanging a look with Wally, Clark left the red head and followed Diana out of the cafeteria and into one of the deserted side hallways.

"Really, Diana? Using John to get back at Bruce?" Clark hissed. "That's incredibly immature of you, you know that?"

"I'm not using him!" Diana insisted, glaring into Clark's blue eyes. "I'm just being friendly! John needs friends, and I'm just being nice!"

Clark snorted. "Right. You're telling me you're not using John at _all_ as a way to make Bruce jealous?"

"No," Diana snapped. "I'm not."

"Then why are you going with him? And don't say it's 'because you're being 'nice' because we both know that's not true."

Diana fell silent, mind desperately working to create a way out of this mess. "I'm-I'm curious about John!" She blurted out. "I just want to get to know him. He seems . . . distant... and odd. So I want to get to know him!"

It wasn't a total lie. While it wasn't the main reason Diana had asked the Canadian transfer student to the dance, she _was_ still out to find out what was up with him. The fact that she hoped it might make Bruce slightly jealous was just an added bonus.

Clark looked at her suspiciously. "Okay. Just…don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Diana said sweetly. Turning her back on the boy, she could see Bruce and Selina sharing a slice of pie in the cafeteria through the door's window.

_What the hell are you doing Diana?_

* * *

It was just a week until the Winter Wonderland dance and Diana was not looking forward to it. Nearly everyone else was bursting with excitement over their dresses, their pre and post-dance plans and most importantly, their dates. Wally had asked a pretty girl named Linda Park to go with him, Arthur was driving his girlfriend in from out of town, and even Clark had plucked up the courage to ask Lois. Though, Diana _had_ heard Lois confronted Clark about it and practically made him ask her, but Clark was happy to be going with the girl he'd been crushing on since he met her in the seventh grade. Even John and Shayera had decided to go together, despite the massive fights that had been going on between them for the past few weeks.

And then there was Selina and Bruce. Diana didn't know what she thought of Selina. She seemed nice at times, but then again, some of the time she was possessive and snippy and everything that got on Diana's nerves. She had no problem with taking other people's things, but she did it in a way that ensured nobody would ever stay mad at her. She would just give them that sly smile and bat her eyelashes and they would practically lie down at her feet. In short, Selina was probably just the sort of girl Bruce would fall for.

And the worst part was, even though nobody knew they were dating, it was plainly obvious to Diana that they had been. When she thought of it, she saw them together before and after school every few days and they had plainly been flirting. Still, nobody had made the connection. Nobody in their grade knew. Except Clark. Diana had confronted him later the same day she had found out after she had calmed down and demanded for him to tell her everything he knew about Selina. He had caved instantly and shamefacedly told her that he had known Bruce had feelings for the girl for several weeks, but he had promised not to tell anyone. Even then, Diana had stalked away and refused to speak to Clark for a day or two after.

And now she was stuck going with John. Diana had barely even spoken to him since she screamed at him to go with her and she wasn't even sure the poor guy was going.

After school on the Tuesday before the Saturday of the dance, Diana made her way over to John and brightly said, "Hi, John!"

Jumping in alarm, the boy dropped his books and hurriedly scrambled to pick them up. "Oh, hello Diana," he said quietly, slipping his books into his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "How are you today?"

"Brilliant," Diana lied easily. "So, you excited for this Saturday?"

John smiled shyly. "A little."

Diana's heart nearly broke at that. _No, Diana,_ she told herself firmly. _You are not using this boy. You're going with him because you are a worthwhile human being. _

"Great. So am I!" She said. Together, the two made their way out of the school, Diana forcing a conversation about her dress that her mother had picked up for her and John nodding and saying "Cool" every so often. Diana more or less followed John off campus, seeing as he seemed to want to get home and she was still curious to see where he lived.

He didn't live very far from the school. Diana was always surprised to see how quickly the neighborhood could change from the preppy area in which Chesterfield High was located into the less affluent part filled with run down supermarkets and half empty apartment buildings.

"So, you live around here?" Diana said, trying to sound excited as she surveyed her surroundings. She had grown up in a very upper-middle class life style and it was always a reality-jolt to remember people lived in situations not necessarily ideal compared to hers.

"Yes," John said absentmindedly. Almost hesitantly, he came to stop at the entrance of white paint-chipped, but clean, apartment complex. "Here it is," he said, almost wistfully.

Diana peered at the dark windows of the building in interest. "Cool. Can I come in?"

Instantly, John went from being melancholy and calm to freaked out and nervous. "W-what? No, no don't. I mean-I would love for you to come, but I don't-my family doesn't want-like visitors. Sorry," he finished lamely, eyes still wide in alarm.

"Okay," Diana said cautiously. "I won't come in. Relax, John." The boy still looked completely on edge and eyed her with a mixture of fear, caution and worry. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, slightly concerned.

John relaxed. "Yes, I will see you tomorrow. At school. Good bye, Diana."

Diana turned and walked in the opposite direction, still perturbed by the situation. She looked back over her shoulder to check on John, only to see he had disappeared. Facing the apartment complex again, she doubled back and raked her eyes over the open parking lot. John was nowhere to be seen. _Weird… _She walked around the lot several times, glancing into side passageways and up onto balconies, but John was nowhere to be seen. Then, just as she was about to give up, she saw a dark figure darting away from the building and into the overgrown woods behind the building. Going against her better judgment, Diana sprinted after him.

_Diana. You are going to get yourself killed. Are you even sure that's John? Nope. It could be a Nazi rapist serial killer. _

Diana charged straight into the trees and followed the trail of trampled plants that whoever she was following had left. She tried to be as quiet as possible, but even then she couldn't help but squeak when a branch smacked her in the face. Diana had no problem with the outdoors. Her mother had taken her and her younger sister, Donna, on many hiking trips, desperate to carve them into confident, independent young women, and not the stereotypical, mall-going, man-seeking idiots that so many girls were becoming now. But, any girl – preppy or not – will cringe when she feels bugs and leaves getting caught in her hair. Pulling at a large tangle in her hair caused undoubtedly by one of the many twigs falling onto her, Diana's foot caught on the forest floor and sent her into the mud in a flurry. She slid several feet into the undergrowth before coming to a stop. Scowling and flicking mud off her face, Diana got up clumsily and nearly fell down again at what was in front of her.

A massive, uninhabited looking warehouse was sprawled out amidst the tall and dark trees around her. Its walls were gray and cracked with age; its windows black and gaping like small mouths. The very place emitted a sense of deep sadness and loneliness as it lay prey to time and Mother Nature. Diana stood there, so transfixed with the building she almost didn't notice a figure sneaking into the warehouse via a large broken window. But, by the faint light of late afternoon above her, she did and with a smile of victory, she followed in pursuit. Careful not to cut her hands, she leapt through the window and into the warehouse. Sunlight streamed in through holes and cracks in the walls and illuminated nooks and crannies in the rooms.

Diana could now see the person she had been trailing was in fact John Jones. He was walking almost forlornly along the corridor, fingers trailing along the worn-down walls as if he was deep in thought. Then, he abruptly ducked into a side passageway and disappeared. As quietly as she could, Diana tip-toed after him. As she looked around the corner hesitantly, she could see that this corridor let out into a large room, half of it crowded with wooden boxes that had been carelessly thrown against the walls and the other half left empty. However, John was again nowhere to be seen.

_What the hell? _Diana frowned in suspicion and walked into the room, looking back every so often, keeping her eyes out for John. Despite the outright freakiness of the situation, Diana could not help but feel like she had walked straight out of a James Bond movie. Stifling a giggle, Diana whispered as quietly as she could, "John? You here? Don't worry, it's Diana."

There was suddenly a crash from behind her. Diana whipped around in pure alarm. One of the stacked crates had fallen to the ground and broken apart. Now the ground was littered with broken wood, straw and glass shards from what Diana assumed had been vases.

_Crap, what was that? _Diana thought, heartbeat elevating slightly in her nervousness.

"Hello?" She whispered hoarsely. "Anyone there? John?"

There was no response. One of the boxes above her gave a wiggle. She stared at it, eyebrows coming together slightly as she scrutinized the ceiling above her.

_What the-?_

Instantly, Diana felt a force shove her in the shoulder and she was thrown fifteen feet into the wall behind her. As she flew through the air, crates exploded around her and polluted the air with dust and straw. Slamming into the wall, the right side of Diana's body exploded with pain. Her eyes widened and she screamed in agony.

"John!" She cried, eyes frantically searching the compound for the dark skinned boy. "Oh my god, oh my god, hello?" Staggering to her feet, she massaged her right forearm, wincing as the pain faded to a dull ache. "John? Look, whatever this is, this isn't funny."

Another crate went flying into the wall ten feet from her with a resounding crash. Diana gave another scream and leapt backwards in terror. _Shit. _"John. We have to go. Now."

A sudden, purely inhuman sound, something between a growl and a hiss, emitted from behind her. Diana froze. She could practically feel _something_'s eyes on her, scrutinizing every inch of her being. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise and she bolted to her left, ducking behind a row of crates. Feeling blindly around in her dusty surroundings, Diana scrambled around and over boxes before coming to a halt behind a long, large crate. She crouched behind it, hands pressed flat onto its surface and her breath coming out in low, shaky breaths. Stretching up, she could just barely see above the edge of the crate. For a few seconds, there was nothing save for the ruins of a few crates and the dusty light filtering in through the roof. Then, a large, misshapen shadow loomed on the wall barely twenty feet in front of her. Whatever it was rounded the corner, and Diana's breath caught in her throat. Red eyes found hers and she _felt_ in her mind a voice, ancient, and yet at the same time, scared and empty, roar _"GET OUTTTTTTT"_

Letting out a blood curdling scream, Diana turned and sprinted out of the room and into another side hall. Squinting in the dim light, Diana scanned the walls for a hole, an exit, anything. To her good fortune, a partially smashed in window appeared on her left, and she dived through it. Diana ran for her life through the forest, somehow found her way back to the apartment complex, and back to the safety of preppy ol' Chesterfield.

She did not stop until she reached her home and collapsed upon her bed, the image of that…_creature_still imprinted her mind.

**A/: To all of those you are undoubtedly going to say some of the characters are OOC, remember. They're highschoolers. Any high school girl would freak out when bugs get in their hair and they see a massive monster coming at them. I would scream, and probably so would Diana. So there. And as for Arthur. He's an immature, pompous punk right now because, again, they're in high school. He matures out of that when he hits about twenty-five. This is just my interpretation of what he is like when he's seventeen.  
****WARNING: This is NOT going to be a WonderBat fic. Yes, Diana has a massive crush on Bruce****, but it's one sided. So, if you are reading this story because you're hoping for some WonderBat action, sorry!  
Updates are every Friday. **

**EDIT: I want to thank DaisyJane for bringing up some major plot holes dealing with the relationship between Diana and Bruce, mainly the fact that Steve seems to have vanished completely from the first chapter. I had completely forgotten about him. So, I will try to bring him back into the story, but if I can't find a way, I'm just going to go back and delete his part from the first chapter. If anybody has any ideas on how to salvage that plot line, please PM me as I am somewhat lost right now. I'm not great with story relationships between characters I don't know well. Sorry again!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **PLEASE READ** So, this chapter is significantly longer than the other chapters; it's just over 7,000 words, so for those who dislike reading long chapters, my apologies. The other chapters will not be this long, I promise. Funnily enough, this chapter took me the least amount of time to write, mainly because most of my writing took place at one o'clock in the morning while on a sugar rush. Go me.  
Anyway, dealing with the problem of completely and totally forgetting Steve Trevor in the story, I'm so sorry. I'm mentioning him in this chapter just to bring him back into the story, and don't worry, he will actually have a bigger part in chapters to come. Again, thank you so much for DaisyJane for picking up on that. You have saved me from further humility.  
Other than that, I think I'm done. Thank you to Scarlet-Maria-Abdul who has been serving as a beta for me for the story so far. Without her this thing would be full of grammar mistakes and more plot holes then it already has and I just forgot to give her credit in the previous chapters.  
Enough with this ridiculously long author's note, on with the story!**

Chapter 4

"…and it was big and green and freaky looking!" Diana insisted loudly to an unconvinced looking Clark during a passing period the following day. "We should call the police or the army or the-"

"Or nobody, Diana," Clark interrupted quietly. "Look, it's been a hard week for you. You were probably just tired and started hallucinating or something."

Diana blanched. "Hallucinating?" She repeated. "You have to be joking! I'm not crazy!"

"I wasn't saying you were," Clark said, eyes downcast. "Like I said, you were probably tired. People see weird things when they're tired-"

"I wasn't tired!" Diana raged. "I know what I saw and it was a monster!" Turning on her heel, she stormed off.

_Stupid kid, what does he know? I'm not crazy. _

Still fuming, she threw the door of the girl's bathroom open and stalked inside. Ignoring the gaggle of giggling girls in front of the mirror, she locked herself in the largest stall and threw her backpack to the ground in a huff. Sighing in agitation, Diana began to pace nervously around the confined space, carefully avoiding the puddle of god-knows-what in the corner. She had been up all night, partly thinking about what that _thing _was and partly because she was terrified it was going to come after her. Diana knew she wasn't crazy; she had considered that possibility for a good three hours before she came to the conclusion she was mentally fine because she hadn't hallucinated any other time that day. Then she deliberated the possibility of drugs, but then again, who would want to drug her?

Running her hands through her hair nervously, Diana mentally screamed in frustration. Suddenly, her phone in her pocket 'dinged', startling her. Groaning, she dug it out of her jeans, expecting to see either some concerned message from Clark or a reminder from her mother to pick her sister up from school that afternoon, but it was neither. It was a text from Steve reading "Hey, babe. Haven't talked in a while. Been busy? Call me ASAP."

Instantly, Diana was overcome with guilt. She had barely spoken to Steve in months, save for a few short texts and rushed phone calls. She had just been so busy with her John Jones investigation, then Bruce, and now a green monster problem. Steve was occupied enough with West Point; he didn't need to add Diana to his mix of thing to worry about.

Diana didn't mean to be avoiding him, she just…_forgot_ about him. Not on purpose, of course! Well, maybe. . . Diana had never been good with the whole long distance relationship thing they had planned when Steve graduated. The summer was fine, then he left and Diana was alone in New York. But, West Point was only about a half hour out of Manhattan, so she still got to see him on weekends. But West Point was a good three hours from Rhode Island and the visits stopped completely when she moved. Steve just didn't have the time to make the trip. And what with all of Diana's problems, she just forgot to text sometimes. And she may have _accidentally_ forgotten to tell Steve about her "date" to the Winter Wonderland. Steve was possessive and would instantly order Diana to cancel the date if he heard. This way, Steve never knew and Diana could continue her investigation of John.

Speaking of which, Diana had been looking for John all day, but he had been not-so-subtly avoiding her. He had not said a word to her during English and sat at a completely different table in their Environmental Science class. She hadn't yet gotten a chance to privately interrogate him about the monster, but she was going to try to talk to him next period in Spanish and if not then, she was definitely going to corner him after school.

"Hey! Hurry up in there, will you?" A loud, obnoxious voice interrupted her thoughts. There were several loud knocks on the door. "Passing period is almost up and I need to pee!"

"Sorry!" Diana called through the door. "Give me one sec!" She grabbed her bag up from the ground and roughly pushed the stall door open. The swinging door narrowly missed the blonde girl angrily pounding on it, who promptly snapped, "Hey, watch it, Prince! Some people here actually value their own lives!"

"Sorry, Frances," Diana muttered, shouldering her way past the girl.

"Whatever. Ew, what is that puddle? Diana? Prince? Was this you-?"

The bathroom door slammed shut behind Diana and Frances's complaints were silenced.

The halls were almost empty, save for a few students milling around that either just didn't care about class or were chatting last minute with their friends before the bell rang. However, Diana managed to make it to her Spanish class in time. As soon as she stepped foot in the door, the bell sounded around her, its shrill noise making several students (including Diana) cringe at its pitch.

"¡Hola, clase!" Señorita Costa trilled from the front of the class as Diana took her seat.

"¡Hola, Señorita Costa!" the class responded, though Diana noted it was mainly the boys. It was a well-known fact that Señorita Costa was well liked by the males in the high school for her curvaceous physique and tendency to wear shirts that were much too tight in Diana's opinion.

Señorita Costa smiled widely at them. "Hola. Bueno. Primero, por favor saquen sus tarea de última clase." 1

There were a few groans as students shuffled through binders and notebooks for their work. Diana grudgingly pulled it out, then seized the temporary moment of lost focus to ball up a piece of scrap paper and throw it at John's head from where she sat two desks over. The boy flinched as it connected with his head and looked around in mild annoyance for the thrower. Diana gestured to herself and John's face paled.

'_We need to talk,' _she mouthed to him. John looked reluctantly back at her, then turned away and did not look back.

Diana swore under her breath, which caused some of her fellow students to give her annoyed glances. She scowled at them until they turned away with exasperated huffs.

"¿Tarea?" Señorita Costa asked as she passed her table, looking at Diana expectantly.

Silently, Diana handed her homework to the teacher. Diana's desk partner, a self-obsessed blonde named Michael Carter, smiled sheepishly at Señorita Costa. "No tengo mi tarea. Lo siento, professor," he said. "Maybe you can give me a break?" He switched to English, and smiled a blinding white grin at the teacher and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not a chance, señor," Señorita Costa said, smiling sweetly back.

"Eh, worth a shot." Michael shrugged before turning back to chatting with his friend, Ted Kord.

"So, class. I actually have got a lot of papers to catch up on, so today will be a study hall day. Do you all have something to work on? I know you all have exams coming up," Señorita Costa said, flipping through the collected homework. "If nobody has something to do, I will allow some of you to go to the library for the period."

"John and I will go," Diana said suddenly, jumping at the unexpected chance to interrogate John earlier than she had expected.

Señorita Costa looked slightly surprised. "Well, okay. Take the pass. Anyone else want to go?"

"Ted and I will go as well," Michael said, grinning mischievously.

"No, Señor Carter, how about you stay in and do you missed homework." Señorita Costa said, looking back down to her papers.

Michael's face fell. "Why will I even need Spanish when I'm rich and famous?" He muttered under his breath as he slouched down into his chair, hands in his pockets.

Diana gave Michael a smile of condolence, which he pointedly ignored, before she half-dragged half-carried John out of the classroom.

"Diana, please let me go. Diana-"

"John, I recommend you shut your mouth until I tell you to talk or I might punch you," Diana growled as she heaved John down the hall. John immediately fell silent, but Diana could feel anxiety and anger radiating off of him in waves. She continued down the hall, peaking into classrooms as she headed in the general direction of the library, but not thinking of going straight there. Finally, she opened the door of an empty math room and shoved him inside.

"Diana!" John protested. "We're supposed to be in the library," he added in a lower voice, looking nervously around the room.

"As long as we don't get noticed by anyone, we're fine," Diana said as she shut the door behind her on the way in. She revolved to look at John, who swallowed and shrank a bit in size. "So, "she began slowly. "Take a seat, John."

John bit his lip, but cautiously sat down in the nearest desk. Diana took the seat right next to him and started again. "So, you want to tell me what happened in that warehouse last night?"

John's eye momentarily widened, and then they closed as he took a deep breath. "I don't know what you are referring to Diana. What warehouse?"

Diana's eyebrows rose sharply. "The warehouse behind your apartment."

"Oh," John said softly. "What about it?"

"Don't play innocent, John," Diana said, fingers tapping the desk slowly. "There was a…monster at that warehouse! What was it? Some weird machine? Or did you give me something that made me hallucinate?"

John was now visibly sweating. "Diana, I don't know what you are talking about. That warehouse. . . I go in there to think sometimes and I have never seen a monster."

"Don't lie to me," Diana hissed. "It was big and green and freaky looking."

"Diana," John suddenly said seriously. "I do not know what you are talking about. So stop-"

"Hello? Is someone in there?" A voice suddenly interrupted them from outside.

Both Diana and John's heads whipped around to stare at the door. The doorknob rattled once, twice, then turned and the door opened. The Environmental Science teacher, Ms. Isley, stuck her head it. Green eyes narrowed as the pretty redhead surveyed the two. She stepped fully inside the classroom and placed two delicately manicured hands on her hips. "And just what do you think you're doing?" She asked coolly.

Diana looked back at John, who was looking more confident, but still uneasy. "Nothing," she said. "We were just wrapping up." Rising from the desk, Diana gave John one last look that clearly read '_We're not done here' _before heading out of the classroom. "I'll see you at the dance, John," she called over her shoulder.

"I better not catch you here again Prince," Isley called after her. "Same goes for you, Jones," she snarled as John side-stepped past her.

Diana turned to head back to the classroom, and John – after a moment's hesitation – turned in the opposite direction and walked towards the library. Diana heard Ms. Isley slam the door shut and then the hall was silent again.

* * *

John did not show up for the next two days. That Friday he was mysteriously absent for the majority of the day until he showed up for the last hour of fifth period. Clark told her that he had just shown up at the door looking exhausted and more than a little worse for wear and had no excuse for his tardiness, and just took a seat, then fell asleep right in class. He woke up when school let out and just left again. Diana had looked for him in the hallway after school and was about to give up until she heard a soft voice say "See you tomorrow night, Diana." She turned just in time to see John give her a smile and then scurry away. Diana had looked dumbfounded after him until Wally came up to her to scream in her face about the eleven bottles of Dr. Pepper he had just drunk in PE.

That Saturday she woke up at noon to streaming sunlight and to her sister, Donna, poking around in her closet for a pair of shoes. It took Donna half an hour of yelling at Diana to wake up before she gave up and went to go call their mother. Diana's mother came up and literally dragged Diana out of bed and down to the kitchen to eat a plate of pancakes. After a quick run and a cold shower, Donna, being much more experienced with hair and makeup products than Diana, set to work on controlling Diana's thick, wild mane of black hair. Donna spent about an hour straightening it, and then another hour was spent curling it into light curls. Pushing away Diana's hands and ignoring her protests, Donna applied a light layer of makeup to her face and eyes, then helped Diana's struggle into her form fitting red dress and matching heels.

"Wow, Diana. You look great," Donna said, smiling proudly at her handiwork as she examined Diana in the mirror. Diana shifted uncomfortably in the floor length dress, examining herself from every angle before agreeing. "Yea, I like it. Thank so much for the help, Donna."

"You're welcome, Di," Donna said, packing up her makeup supplies. "I know you're absolutely helpless with makeup and beauty, so it's my duty as your younger sister to help you not look like a fool. Too bad it's only open to juniors and seniors or I'd totally crash it." She glanced at the clock on Diana's nightstand. "What time does the dance start? It's 6:30 right now"

"It doesn't start until seven, but I'm picking John up at 6:45," Diana said reluctantly as she put on a pair of red earrings.

"Someone sounds unhappy with their date." Donna looked at Diana skeptically, one hand on her hip.

Diana's head whipped around to face her sister. "It's not a date," she snapped. "We're going as friends." _You wish, _Diana told herself. _You barely even trust the guy. _

"Does he know that? And whatever happened to Steve?" Donna asked casually.

Diana froze. "Donna, it's none of your business."

"I'm just wondering," Donna said defensively. "He _is_ your boyfriend. Does he know you're going to the dance with some other guy? Did you even mention the dance to him? Do you even _talk_ to him anymore?"

"Donna!" Diana barked. She took a breath and shook her head, eye downcast. "I better go; I have to pick up John." Snatching up her handbag, Diana stalked past her sister and down the stairs. Her mother looked up from her laptop in the kitchen as Diana headed out the door.

"You look nice, Diana," she said to Diana's back. Diana paused, hand on the doorknob. "Dress is a bit low cut though. However, whatever Donna did your eyes, really does make them shine. You have your father's eyes." She added at the end almost in an afterthought.

"Thank you, mother," Diana said quietly, before pulling the door open and leaving.

Diana pulled her BMW onto John's apartment block, the sun's setting light casting faint shadows on the street. John was waiting for her right in front of his building, casting nervous looks around. He was wearing a dark suit that looked very nice compared to his usual sweaters and slacks. As she drove up, John gave her a small smile and a little wave. Diana sighed and waved back as she stopped the car in front of him.

"Hi!" She called through the open car window. "Come on, we got to go! We're going to be late!"

John hurried to the car and slid into the passenger's seat. Casting her a sideways look, John said, "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," Diana said shortly. "You don't look too bad yourself," she admitted at the end. John opened his mouth to say something, but Diana cut him off. "If you don't say anything, I won't either. I want to enjoy tonight, if that's all right with you."

John immediately closed his mouth and they rode the rest of the way in complete silence.

Chesterfield High was alight with balloons and streamers as Diana parked the BMW. She got out of the car and brushed off John, who had rushed around the car to open her door.

"Relax, you don't need to do that," she muttered.

John swallowed and stepped back. "Of course."

"Come on!" Diana chirped with fake cheerfulness. Together, they tramped up to the gym where the dance was being held. White lanterns lined the walkway to the gym and pixie lights were twinkling in the trees and bushes. There was a short line in front of the gym of students waiting to get in. Two hassled looking volunteers were at the table near the door, taking in money and handing out ticket stubs, while Mr. Tetch and Coach Turpin stood next to them, surveying each student entering the gym. As John and Diana walked up, Clark and Lois waved from the back of the line from where they stood next to Shayera, John Stewart, Dinah and Oliver. Clark was looking dashing in a black suit paired with dark blue shirt, and Lois matched in a blue strapless dress.

"Hey," Clark greeted. "Wow. You two look great."

"You look great too. Same to you Lois," Diana said, happy to be in the company of friends.

"Thanks," Lois said absentmindedly. "Now hush, I'm observing all the couples here for the article I'm going to write about the dance."

"Okay," Diana said quietly. She perked up when Dinah and Oliver moseyed up next to them. "Whoa, Dinah. You look fantastic."

Dinah beamed and twirled around in her high necked black gown. "Thanks!" She twirled one curled strand of blonde hair around a finger and slung another arm around Oliver's waist. "Shayera helped me pick the dress out, and I picked hers out. Isn't that right, Shayera? Yellow is a great color on you" She called over her shoulder. Shayera made a face, but Diana had to admit, she _did_ look really nice in the golden dress Dinah had picked out for her.

"Shayera and John are arguing again," Oliver whispered to Diana. "Something about who was going to pay for the dance tickets and gas bill."

"That's really dumb," Diana whispered back.

"Of course it's dumb," Clark said, joining the conversation in a low voice. "But that's all they ever do. Argue over ridiculous meaningless things. It's just their thing."

"We can hear you," John S. muttered.

"Whoops." Clark shrugged. "Oh look, it's our turn!" He handed over his and Lois's ticket stubs, and then escorted Lois inside. Diana waited for the others to turn in their tickets, then handed hers and John's to one of the less frazzled looking of the two volunteers. Yanking John by the arm, the two stepped inside the gym, which had been decorated to look just like the dance title suggested: a Winter Wonderland. More white lights lined the ceiling and walls, and white snowflakes and glitter hung from the ceiling on clear twine. A large disco ball was dangling above the dance floor and cast shadowy lights all over the room. A large painted mural of a winter snow scene was hanging from the far wall where excited couples were snapping pictures in front of it.

"Wow. The decorating committee really outdid themselves," Diana said conversationally to John, who nodded in agreement. Together, the two strolled over to where a group of their friends had clumped together near the snack bar. Wally was shoving cookies into his mouth while attempting to hit on his date, Linda Park, who was looking like she just wanted to leave. Shayera had started to chat animatedly with a large hockey player named Carter Hall, while John Stewart stared at them a few feet away with narrowed eyes. Diana debated for a few minutes whether or not he was going to throw the glass of punch he was holding at Carter, but ultimately John turned his back on the two to talk with Hal Jordan.

The next thirty minutes of the dance progressed well. Diana didn't really dance with John; she mainly danced next to Clark and Lois and with these two random juniors she didn't even know but later found out were cheerleaders that had snuck in from the nearby Gotham West.

"Smashing dance, huh?" Diana shouted over the music to Arthur and his surprisingly gorgeous girlfriend Mera.

"Quite!" Mera shouted back right as Wally stumbled up, looking cross eyed and with a large, hand shaped bruise on his cheek.

"What happened?" Diana asked, instantly concerned.

"It was dark and I couldn't tell who anyone was," Wally said downheartedly. "I kissed someone who I _thought_ was Linda, but it wasn't."

Diana struggled very hard not to laugh. "Who was it then?"

"Ms. Isley," Wally cried, looking terrified. "I don't think she saw it was me, but if she did, I'm dead. She hates me!"

"She hates everyone," Arthur said, rolling his eyes.

"That is true," Diana agreed. She turned to look over her shoulder at Ms. Isley at the door, who was shouting something at Coach Turpin with a look of fury on her face. "Yep, she looks angry!" Diana yelled over the loud blaring music to Wally, who promptly groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Suddenly, the music stopped and Coach Turpin's loud bellows could be heard over the now confused voices of students. Peering through the crowd, Diana could see Coach Turpin, Mr. Tetch and the Home Economics teacher, Mr. Harkness, circling a small group of casually dressed students.

"I cannot believe this!" Turpin raged. "Middle schoolers sneaking into a high school dance! It's unacceptable! We're going to need to call your parents and-"

"Oh my god. Kara? Kon?" Diana saw Clark pushing his way gently to the front and storming up to a blonde girl and a dark haired boy. "Really guys? Sneaking into my dance? Mature of you both."

"You know them?" Turpin growled to Clark.

Clark sighed and raked his hair back. "Yea, I know them. They're my cousins." He scanned over the small group. "I know them all. Those are their friends. Dick, Roy, Bart, Cassie, and Kory. Seriously, guys? Why?"

Dick shrugged. "I thought it'd be fun."

"_I_ think it's fun," Kory – a tall, fiery haired girl with a dark tan – gushed to Dick, fingers creeping up his jacket sleeve.

"Gross, stop that Kory," Clark said, batting her hands away from the other boy's arm. "Okay, Coach. Kara's a sophomore and has a license; she can drive them home. Sorry for the trouble."

"We'll be in touch with your parents to get their family's contact information," Turpin said gruffly to Clark. "There will be a punishment for you all," he shouted at the younger students, who merely sniggered at the man's rage.

"Come on, get out," Clark muttered to his cousins.

"Ugh, Clark, you're such a party-pooper!" Conner whined to Clark and the older teen dragged him and Kara out of the gym. The crowd parted as the three headed to the door with the other teens in tow. Cassie and Bart were laughing their heads off at their friends' discomfort, and Roy was attempting to chat it up with some juniors. Which to Diana looked like it was going fairly well until Turpin seized him by the cuff of his shirt and threw him out of the gym right behind the others.

"I expect them to head home," Coach Turpin told Clark pointedly

"Don't worry, they will," Clark assured him. "I just texted my mother about it and assuming she figures out how to open the text message, she'll be furious. It'll be fine."

Turpin made a face, but gestured for the DJ to crank up the music again. Instantly, the dance was back on and proceeded smoothly with no other interruptions from then on. About two hours in, just when Diana was beginning to feel her sweat beginning to soak her dress, the fast dance music slowed to a melodic song by who Diana thought sounded like OneRepublic. Nevertheless, the singles slowly departed from the main dance floor and couples slowly filled it up. Clark and Lois twirled by, with Lois looking like she was in control more than Clark, followed by Dinah and Oliver, the latter who looked extremely tipsy. Diana was ninety-nine percent sure he and Wally had spiked the punch bowl near the middle of the dance, which would explain Oliver's current state of drunkenness.

John Jones was nowhere to be found, and even if he was there, Diana didn't really feel like dancing with him. She could see some pimply looking chess players eyeing her up from the nearest corner of the room and she instantly scooted to the other side of the gym. As she did so, she caught sight of Selina and Bruce, both of whom had been mysteriously absent for the majority of the dance and only turned up twenty minutes ago, revolving slowly on the dance floor, her head resting on his shoulder and his fingers entwined in her hair.

_Okay, time for a bathroom break._

Diana skirted around the edge of the crowd, eyes firmly on the ceiling as she headed towards the restrooms. As she reached the doors to the hall, the slow music reached its climax of pure sweetness and Diana was glad for its abrupt stop once the doors banged shut behind her. Sighing loudly, she headed down the hall to the bathroom, averting the eyes of other singles who had fled the gym when the song started.

"Hey," a voice suddenly whispered. "Prince."

Diana looked around, but saw no one.

"Puddin' I don't think she can see us," a second voice whined.

"Well, poo, we can fix that can't we? Here!" A door to her right flung open and a hand wrenched her into the classroom.

Diana flew into the room and staggered to a halt, wobbling in her heels. "Hey, what's your problem?" She cried angrily, adjusting her dress. She turned to look at her captors to yell at them again, but fell silent at the sight of them. "And you are-?" she questioned, her right eye brow arching.

The boy gave a cackle and a wave. "Oh, you don't know me? I thought my _formidable _reputation would have preceded me." He was a tall – not as tall as Bruce or Clark, but still almost six feet – gangly fellow with a long face and greasy looking hair that was smoothed back into a messy do. His dark lips stretched in a wide smile in his pale face showed off yellow, but impossible straight, teeth.

Diana shook her head groggily. "Right, I know you. Jack Napier. Class clown and school idiot." Jack Napier was known throughout the school as being a boy who rarely showed up for class, but still managed to pull out with B's and pass the grade. He was constantly pulling pranks, most of them harmless, though they were known to get a bit out of hand. Diana had heard rumors that he had tried to fry half of Harvey Dent's face with a curling iron back in the eighth grade, and that back in elementary school he had "accidently" electrocuted Leslie Willis and landed her in the hospital for three months. Diana had yet to witness his pranks firsthand, but Jack was right – his reputation was daunting.

"Hey! Don't talk like that to Jacky!" the girl next to him snapped, waggling a finger in Diana's face as if she was a mother scolding a child after writing on the walls. Diana recognized her as well. She was Harleen Quinzel; a hyperactive cheerleader and psychology geek with a passion for trouble and a habit of falling for the wrong type of boys. Jack was never seen without the girl, and it was said that Harley would do anything for him, even though Jack treated her like absolute garbage.

"Um, hi, Harley, right?" Diana asked, rubbing her wrist from where Jack had grabbed her.

Harley instantly perked up and nodded energetically. "That's right!"

"What do you two want?" Diana asked, eyeing the two suspiciously.

"Why the passive aggressive tone, Diana?" Jack put a hand to his heart, appearing to be hurt. "You assume we are up to no good? Why does everyone think everything I do is going to lead to someone getting hurt? Harley!" He pointed at the girl suddenly. "In our past eighty-seven pranking sprees, have I ever once put you in harm's way?"

"Only eighty-seven times!" Harley squealed, clapping her hands to her cheeks.

"Oh, right." Jack shrugged. "Maybe you people are on to something. But that's beside the point!" He spun to look at Diana, eyes so wide it was almost comical. "We have a proposition for you, Diana."

"A proposition?" Diana questioned.

"Are you deaf? That's what I said. Isn't that what I said?" Jack asked Harley. Without waiting for the blonde to respond, he plunged on. "I was strolling along the hallways earlier this week, minding my own business, when I couldn't help but…_overhear_ a conversation between you and our mutual acquaintance Mr. Kent. A conversation I found very interesting."

Diana's blood ran cold. Could he be talking about-?

Jack's hand came to rest on Diana's right shoulder. "Now, I don't think you're crazy," he told her with true pity in his voice. "But, if you're seeing big, green monsters running around in warehouses, then you might want to see someone about that."

Diana's breath caught in her throat. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered.

"Oh, Diana, please don't lie to me. I don't like to be lied to, right poo?" Jack smiled at Harley. "Tell the nice girl how much I hate liars."

"A lot," Harley told Diana seriously.

"So, Diana. I would like to help you," Jack said, seizing Diana by the shoulders to look her straight in the face.

Diana was confused. "Help me? With what?"

"With your monster problem, of course!" Jack yelled, shaking Diana. "I want in! It'll be fun! It'll be a grand adventure! A bonding, friendship trip of sorts! Like the ones you see in those terrible Adam Sandler movies!" He released her and spun around on his tip-toes, hand to his heart. Sighing dramatically, he looked off into the distance, then back to Diana. "So what you say, champ? You in?'

"I'm sorry," Diana said, brushing her curls back into place. "I just don't see what you think you can help me with."

Jack tapped his chin thoughtfully. Then, his green eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers together. "Think of us as protection! As simple, mindless apes that will follow your every command and will follow you into danger at a moment's notice!" He and Harley flew together and leaned in close to Diana, eyes wide and hands clasped below their chins. "Please?" Harley batted her eyelashes provocatively as Jack's teeth were bared in a large, almost unsettling grin.

Diana debated the situation quickly. Though she trusted Jack and Harley almost as far as she could throw them, she _would_ like the company. And it wasn't like they would turn on her or anything; they were probably just brainless adrenaline junkies. "Okay," she said finally. "You can come."

"Brilliant!" Jack shouted as Harley gave a cheer and bounced up and down on her toes. "We'll go right now!" Jack grabbed Diana's hands and dragged her to the door enthusiastically.

Diana pulled back from his grip. "Wait-right now?"

"Of course!" Jack paused at the door and smiled at the ebony haired girl over his shoulder. "No time like the present, eh?" He wrenched the door open and walked straight into the unsmiling form of Bruce Wayne.

"Oof!" Jack seemed to bounce off his chest and fell to the ground. "Hey, watch it, Wayne!"

Bruce ignored him "Diana? What are you doing in here with this clown?"

"None of your business, Bruce," Diana muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you doing?"

"I had to use the restroom and I overheard loud voices. I heard you three talking. You're going to that warehouse to look for this dumb monster, right?" Bruce's eyebrows knitted together over his eyes.

"How do you know about the monster?" Diana asked, temper rising.

"Clark told me. He was worried," Bruce said, waving her questions off with a hand. "You can't go there with these guys. They're bad news!"

"Hey!" Harley protested. "We are not bad! I happen to be a cheerleader!" She nodded, as if that made the situation better.

"My point exactly," Bruce said, scowling at the girl. "Come on; let's go back to the gym."

"No!" Diana wrenched her arm from his grip. "They volunteered to go with me to the warehouse, and since nobody else will, I think I'll go with them!"

Bruce looked exasperated. "Fine, I'll go with you only if you leave these two here, okay?"

Diana's spirits rose. "Really? You'd do that?"

"I said I would, didn't I?" Bruce muttered. "Let's go. Not you!" He snarled at Jack, who had risen from the ground, but flopped back down with a huff.

"Party pooper," Jack pouted. "No cake for you."

"Like I care," Bruce shouted before slamming the door shut on the two. "Give me a second to get Selina, and then we'll go."

"Selina is going?" Diana asked, discontented.

"Well, I'm not going to leave her here, am I?" Bruce called over her shoulder as he jogged back to the gym. He returned a few minutes later with Selina, Lois, Wally and John Stewart in tow.

"What are you all doing?" Diana asked, gesturing to the pack in confusion.

"Bruce showed up to get Selina and Lois decided she wanted to go," Clark told Diana as he loosed his tie with one hand. "Then, Wally came over after Linda left him to go dance with Hal Jordan, and Shayera decided to go hang out with Carter for the rest of the time, so that's why John is here. We're all going; it'll be fun!"

"Or we're all going to die," John muttered under his breath.

"Oh, shut it, Stewart!" Lois cried. "You're such a downer!"

"Let him channel his inner rage, Lois," Wally told her. "He's had a long night."

"Shut up, West!" John snapped, shoving Wally into the wall roughly.

"Will you calm down?" Bruce said in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're not going to solve anything acting like that."

"Right." Clark did a quick head count. "So, we all ready? Let's go!"

Together, the group tramped out to the parking lot, still in their suits and dresses. In near silence, save for Wally's incessant chatter, they all crammed into Diana's BMW and headed off to the woods. As Diana neared John's apartment complex, she switched the lights off and parked the car on the side of the road as quietly as she could.

"Come on!"

They traipsed out to the woods, with Wally talking about everything from how terrible the music at the dance was to the color of Frances Kane's bra strap. Halfway through their trek to the woods, Lois gave up on walking and practically jumped into Clark's waiting arms. Diana was not fortunate enough to have someone to bear her weight and just took her heels off to relieve some of the stress of her ankles.

"Brrrr." Wally shivered. "It's cold. Aren't you cold, Diana? You've got to be; that coat doesn't look very thick."

"No, it's fine. This way," Diana whispered, dodging bushes and low handing branches as she struggled to see her way through the near darkness of the woods. "Should be right- that's it! Right here!"

The dismal view of the warehouse came into view and Wally gave a whoop of triumph until he was shushed by a furious Bruce with "Shut up, you idiot! Do you want to be heard?"

"Who's out here to hear us?" Wally asked, but shut up as Bruce gave him another glare.

Selina took the lead now as she led them down to the warehouse and leapt through a window with ease, despite her heels and form fitting dress. She watched with amusement as the others struggled through the window in their formal wear.

"Need some help?" She commented as Diana ripped her dress on a large sharp of glass sticking out of the wall on her way in. Diana could practically the girl trying not the laugh as Diana nearly fell.

"No, thank you," Diana hissed as she regained her balance and looked the girl dead in the eyes. "I'm fine. On we go!" Without waiting for Wally to get through the entrance, Diana headed off down the hall and to the large room where she had been attacked.

As Diana entered the room, she called over her shoulder, "Here! This is where something started smashing up boxes and everything. Just look at the mess-" Diana faced the room and almost passed out from shock.

The room was in perfect order. There was no sign of struggle or ruin. All the crates were stacked and the floor was void of any rubble from the other day.

"B-but," Diana stammered. "Th-that doesn't make any sense."

"Oh, darling," Selina cooed, looking around the place with a smile. "See? You were probably just imagining the whole thing." She looked at Diana with a coy smirk on her face. "No big deal."

Diana opened her mouth to retaliate, but was cut off by an overexcited Wally.

"Or maybe there WAS something and then somebody snuck in a cleaned everything up? Like in a mystery movie or whatever?" He darted around the room in a flurry. "Do you think that's a possibility Bruce? You're a detective, right? I wonder why there's just this big empty space here- Oof!" Wally clanged straight into _something _in the middle of the big _empty space _and fell to the floor, moaning in pain. "What the hell was-"

"John?" Clark suddenly asked in shock. "Where'd you come from?

Bruce's head jerked around. "Jones, what are you doing here?"

Sure enough, John Jones was standing in the doorway of one of the side hallways. His hands were clenched at his sides and his dark eyes were wide in pure terror as they moved from Clark and Bruce standing nearest to him, to Selina, John S. and Diana behind and finally to Wally groaning on the floor.

"Okay, Jones?" Selina asked, temper spiking. "What the hell is going on? What's there?" She pointed at the space where Wally had run into the invisible something.

Other questions instantly sparked. "What's going on, John?" "What is this place?" "What the hell are you even doing here?" "Don't you live in the apartment complex nearby? Why are you here?" "Why is it not as cold in here as it is outside?"

The group's cries rose in volume and intensity, and soon Diana could see John was close to a breakdown. Sweat was pouring down his forehead and his dark suit was becoming clogged with sweat stains under his arms. His mouth trembled and his face was darkening with rage. His hands rose to clutch at the sides of his head and he suddenly yelled, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" and the dim lights overhead went out, plunging them into total darkness.

Yells of shock instantly filled the silence.

"What the -?"

"What was that-?"

"Anybody have a light?"

"Here, I got one."

Bruce's face suddenly appeared, illuminated by the yellow light given off by the lighter he held up in his right hand.

"You keep a lighter in your pocket?" John S. asked bemusedly.

"Of course," Bruce said casually. "Everyone okay? Wally, Stewart, Lois? All good?"

"Hey." Selina sounded nervous for the first time. "Jones, you okay? You look terrible."

Every head turned to stare at John. His face had paled considerably and his pupils detracted in fear as he stared at the fire conjured up by the lighter.

"What?" Bruce looked at the lighter, and then something in his head clicked. "You're scared of fire. Ah, don't worry, it won't sting. Unless you don't tell us what we want to know." He took a step closer to John, brandishing the lighter like a weapon. John stumbled backwards in terror, waving his arms in front of his face as a shield. His back hit the wall and he sagged against it, sweat drenching his shirt.

"What are you doing here, Jones?" Bruce whispered in a deadly voice, taking another step. "What is that invisible thing Wally walked into? Tell me."

John's breath was haggard and unsteady; he looked purely terrified and like he was about to puke.

"Tell me!" Bruce repeated, voice rising steadily as he held the flame barely an inch from John's face.

John suddenly gave a roar and Bruce was blasted backward twenty feet. The lighter fell from his hand and fell to the ground, its flame dimming, but not going out. The lights above flickered on and off rapidly, and the windows in the room that had not been broken shattered instantly. But, the group ignored all of this, because their eyes were fixated on John in shock.

His skin had twisted into a rough looking texture that was inexplicably _green_ with ridges and grooves across its surface. His body increased slightly in size and muscles rippled through his clothes and ripped them from his body as his now humanoid shape could not fit into them. His fingers and feet stretch and thinned into claw like digits, and his smooth head elongated into a diamond shape with a flat nose and glowing, red eyes with no pupils and void of any emotion.

John – no, now this…_creature_ let out a roar of something that clearly was not English, or of any language Diana had ever heard, and turned its gaze to the group of students, who were standing stock still and looking at the monster in pure and total horror.

* * *

1 Translation: Good. First, please turn in your homework from last class.

**A/N: Okay, so that's done. You see any mistakes or plot holes, review and let me know. Or you can just review to say you liked/hated it! Really though, I hate to be one of those people who beg for reviews, but they really do brighten my day up. I get a lot of people putting the story on alert, but only a few reviews per chapter. So, if you have the time, please do review. I'm not asking for a whole paragraph, just a word or two is fantastic.  
Thank you so much for your time and patience! **


	5. Chapter 5

**This is a much shorter chapter and is mainly John Jones's backstory. I had to improvise a bit on it, seeing as I don't know that much about the Martian Manhunter's backstory, so I mainly pulled from the cartoon's storyline, then changed it up a bit seeing how he's a teenager and not a soldier.  
And I am sorry for not updating on Friday. I had an incredibly busy week last week and no time to write. And then I went home on Friday hoping to write a quality chapter, but ended up crapping this out. I'm sorry.  
Enjoy a filler chapter!  
**

Chapter 5

_John – no, now this…creature let out a roar of something that clearly was not English, or of any language Diana had ever heard, and turned its gaze to the group of students, who were standing stock still and looking at the monster in pure and total horror._

"What the hell?" Wally gasped as the entire group reeled backwards in shock.

The emerald creature _whimpered_ slightly and took a few feet towards them, before falling to its knees and crumpling to the ground. Diana exchanged a look with Clark, who looked both shocked and confused. After a note of hesitance, Clark stepped nervously towards it and said, "H-hey, John? Th-that you?" His voice held a note of fear in it, though he faced the creature head on.

It did nothing.

"Hey, John," Clark repeated, voice growing stronger. "I-If you can hear me, can you maybe change back into your, er, human form? If you can? It may make everyone a bit calmer."

Again, the thing did nothing, just lay on the ground, head between its knees as it breathed heavily. Then, just as Clark was about to speak again, its formed wavered and it slowly slid out of the body of the monster. Green skin blended into chocolate, the mottled surface smoothed out, and the body itself shrunk and twisted back into the familiar human skeleton. John, for he was John again, lay in fetal position on the warehouse floor, head in his lap and chest heaving.

"John?" Clark asked gently, reaching out to touch the boy's shoulder. "It's okay, really. No one is going to hurt you, alright?" He looked around at the others, most of whom were still pressed against the far wall, but after a moment, all of them – even Selina after another second – nodded, though they all still looked terrified.

John did not speak for a moment. Then, "I'm so sorry," he whispered, lifting his head up to look at the others with clear eyes. "Forgive me for…startling you."

"Startling us?" Selina cried. "You scared the hell out of us! What the fuck are you?"

"Selina," Bruce said sharply. "Please. Though, I am curious as well to find out what that, -well, what you-are."

"Agreed," John S. snarled, advancing on the other boy angrily.

"Maybe we should get out of here," Bruce suggested, glancing around the warehouse with its flickering lights and gaping windows. "My house isn't that far from here, and it's got plenty of room for everyone to relax. Sound good?"

Everyone exchanged dubious looks, and then glanced at John, still huddled on the floor shivering. Silently, they all nodded at Bruce. Clark and John S. gently helped John off the floor and the group slowly exited the warehouse, saying barely a word and avoiding each other's eyes.

Twenty minutes later, the BMW pulled into the driveway of Wayne Manor. Behind the wheel, Diana nearly stopped the car in amazement. She knew Bruce was rich, but not _this _rich. The mansion was absolutely massive, with Gothic-style towers in pale gray stone and large iron gated windows illuminated with pale yellow light. The grounds themselves stretched in every direction; the side roads leading off the main driveway winded through well-kept gardens of bright flowers and trimmed bushes until they faded into the darkness of night.

"Will you open the doors already?" Bruce complained from the back, where he was squashed between Clark and Wally. Clark made a face at the other boy and awkwardly opened the door. With a loud "Oof!" both Clark and Bruce tumbled out of the car, with the latter catching himself rather ungracefully just as he was about to do a face-plant into Clark's butt. Ignoring Barry and Diana's grins, Bruce seized Selina's wrist and stalked to the mansion with his girlfriend in tow. Shaking her head in both amusement and annoyance, Diana followed the couple, with John S. and Wally behind her, and John J. and Clark trailing at the end, the former helping a still queasy looking Jones along.

They paused at the door, where Bruce dug a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He ushered them all hurriedly inside, then shut the heavy wooden door behind him with a dull thud. Inside, Diana again stopped and proceeded to stare like an idiot at the interior of the mansion. Marble floors marked with the a large Wayne family 'W' led to a winding purple-carpeted staircase, and a huge silver iron chandelier above them cast dim lights into the corners of the rooms. Only Clark and Selina seemed at ease in the intimidating house as they casually slipped their coats off and stowed them in the closet near the door. It was obvious they both had been here before. One of the side doors slid open and a distinguished looking elderly gentleman in a black suit entered.

"Master Bruce, you're home a bit earlier than I would have imagined," the man said in a clipped English accent.

"Yea, we left," Bruce said as Diana, Wally and John S. examined the man curiously.

"I assumed as much," the man said dryly. Addressing the group at large, he said, "Good evening. My name is Alfred Pennyworth."

"Are you like some man-servant or something?" Wally asked, looking over the elderly man with suspicion.

Alfred sniffed. "Actually, the proper term is butler, if you don't mind. And you are-"

"This is Wally West," Bruce interrupted. "John Stewart, Diana Prince and…" He hesitated, looking at John Jones, who was sagging against the wall. "This is John Jones. Erm, we're going to go into the drawing room."

Alfred and Bruce seemed to have a three-second telepathic conversation, before the butler saying "I'll go get some tea" and retreated from the hall.

"Coffee, if you have it!" Wally shouted at his back.

"This way," Bruce grumped, leading the group out of the main hall into another side room. "Sit, Jones."

The dark skinned boy obeyed, sitting down immediately on the plush velvet couch.

"What was that all about back in the warehouse, John?" Clark said quietly once everyone had settled.

The boy did not speak for a moment. After thirty seconds of silence, Bruce impatiently cleared his throat and the boy began to speak.

"I suppose there is no point in lying anymore. Not after what you have seen. It would be easier to erase your memories, but I shall not, for fear of causing permanent damage to your minds."

"Wait, _mind erasing_?" Wally yelped. Diana exchanged a dubious look with John S., then glanced at Bruce. He was looking unfazed as he gazed contemplating at John.

John sighed. "Yes. I have telepathic and telekinetic abilities as well as the power to change my appearance at will."

"Prove it," Selina demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

John's brown eyes glowed silver, and a Ming vase behind him rose a foot into the air and shattered.

_Does this prove it well enough?_ John's voice thundered through their minds.

Everybody, Bruce included, visibly flinched. Wally shouted out in panic and fell out of his chair.

"Never do that again," Wally shouted, clutching at his head and rolling around on the ground. "Holy shit…"

"I am sorry, but Selina wanted me to prove my abilities," John said in a monotone.

"Well you proved 'em all right," Selina grumbled, adjusting her hair. Diana noted with narrowed eyes that Selina's arms had wrapped around Bruce's instinctively and was playing with his belt loops as the girl brushed hair out of her face. Her dark green eyes caught Diana's and she smiled coyly at her. All traces of irritation gone, Selina turned back to John and said, "So, how exactly do you have these…abilities?"

John pursed his lips. "It is a long story-"

"We have time," Bruce interrupted. "Just talk."

John sighed heavily. "Do you believe in extraterrestrial life?"

They all froze for a minute, then Wally burst out laughing. "What, are you saying you're some sort of-some sort of alien?" He leaned back in his chair; wiping tears of laughter form his eyes. "Wow, Jones. You are incredible. A real clown."

"It is not a joke, Wallace West," John said, frowning. "And I do not like clowns.'

"Come on, _dude_! Seriously?" Wally cried incredulously.

"Wally, shut up," Bruce said, not looking at the redhead.

"God, you're seriously going along with it?" Wally started laughing again. "Bruce! I though _you_ of all people would say it's stupid! Am I right, guys, or am I right? Guys?" He looked around for support from his friends, but found only stares and shut-the-hell-up glares from them.

"Judging from everything that's happened, it wouldn't surprise me," John S. said quietly. "I mean, aliens, right? 'Bout time something like this popped up."

"Right," Clark agreed, though he looked reluctant to admit it. "Please, John, continue,"

"My name is actually J'onn J'onzz," John admitted. "It is not exactly an acceptable name as it was on my home world and the closet Earth counterpart was John Jones."

"And home is-" Wally broke in impatiently.

"I was born on Mars chronic-"

"_Mars_? Oh my god, Clark, Diana, you aren't really falling for this BS, are you?"

"May I speak for the next few minutes _without _you interrupting me, please?" John said, for the first time looking with annoyance at Wally. "Thank you." He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, and then began to talk. "I was born on Mars chronically forty-eight years ago, though due to Martian biology, I am physically sixteen. Roughly eighteen months ago, I was accidently transported to Earth by a doctor in Gotham named Saul Erdel who was attempting to establish communications between Earth and potential life on Mars. Instead, he created a teleportation device that I, let's say, _stumbled on _and upon touch, appeared in an abandoned warehouse here in Chesterfield. That was in early March. I attempted to return to my home, but to no avail. Since that day, I have studied your language and culture in order to better adapt. I deduced I would need to go through school to attain certain experiences and knowledge vital to humans. So I enrolled at Chesterfield. Any questions?"

"That may have been the most I've ever heard you say in a sentence," Wally immediately said bluntly.

"Something doesn't add up," Clark said, running an agitated hand through his hair. "What happened to the doctor? Why couldn't you get back to, um, Mars?" He asked, sounding slightly unconvinced of the Martian's story.

J'onn suddenly looked miserable and, Diana noticed with suspicion, extremely guilty.

"J'onn?" Clark prodded.

"Dr. Erdel died of shock upon sight of me," J'onn said in a dejected voice. "I believe humans call it a heart attack. As for the machine, it overheated when I attempted to reactivate it and, er, broke."

Clark leaned back, eyes wide. "Oh. Well…"

"It does not matter," J'onn said, picking at a loose thread in his suit jacket. "He was old; he would have died soon anyway."

"That's not depressing at all," John said as he massaged his temples, looking pained.

"And what about Mars?" Bruce suddenly asked.

John looked confused. "What about it?"

Bruce leaned forward in his chair, looking J'onn straight in the eyes in all seriousness. "I mean, what about your family on Mars? Your friends? Anyone? Surely, they would have sent out search parties to look for you."

J'onn shrank in his chair. "No," he said in a small voice. "Not if there was no one to look."

"What do you mean?" Selina asked, slender eyebrows drawing closer together in her forehead.

Swallowing, J'onn started again, voice now visibly shaky. "My-my planet was att-attacked by a group of rival Martians. On Mars, there are three types of Martians: Green, White and Yellow. Green Martians and Yellow Martians exist peacefully, but White Martians are…monsters. They are the most grotesque looking of all the Martian species, and as such, were treated as second-class citizens on Mars for centuries. Because of this extreme segregation, they became brutally violent and blood thirsty. Twenty years ago, they rebelled against the Martian government and started a terrible civil war. Nearly all of the civilian population was destroyed as the united Yellow and Green Martians fought the White Martian Army, save for a small refugee camp in the Southern Palanthar Desert. What was left of the White Army marched against this camp, which was guarded by the equally dwindling Green and Yellow Army. The battle…the battle that ensued reigned for days with no end. The civilians there were mostly obliterated; the Yellow and Green Armies were destroyed with no mercy from their enemies. Those who survived the initial attack were surrounded in the center of the attack. My own family was among those gathered. I was in another part of the camp when the battle first started and could not find them in the chaos." He paused and took a deep breath, then continued. "My father and a few of the surviving soldiers came up with a plan to end the war once and for all. They assembled all of the explosives they could find or make quickly and piled them in the center of the room, set to go off when the White Army entered the premise. They attempted to evacuate the civilians from the area, but there was not enough time. What was left of the enemy army triggered the explosives and th-they went off-" He broke off, head bowed. "I can still smell the burning flesh, the smoke, still hear the screams of dying Martians. Fire explosives were a deadly weapon only used on our greatest enemies. To die by fire is a fate worse than any other form of death to Martians. My father, my mother, my br-brother…" He stopped again, unable to go on.

The room was deadly silent after that. Not even Wally dared to speak. Clark was gently rubbing J'onn's back, face grave.

"I'm sorry," Bruce eventually said, voice oddly thick. "It must be so hard to lose your entire family. However, I need to know everything about how you came to Earth."

"Give him a break, Bruce!" Clark suddenly cried in exasperation. "Look at the poor guy! He's a mess!"

"I need to know everything," Bruce stubbornly repeated.

"But-"

"Relax, Clark," J'onn said. "I am fine." Looking up at Bruce with slightly watery eyes he said, "Sometime after that day I set out across the planet to look for any potential survivors. I was searching the planet in my bio-ship-"

"I'm sorry, bio-ship?" John interrupted.

"Yes," J'onn said, looking perplexed. "Ah, I forgot you do not have then here. Think of them like…space ships."

Wally looked at him. "Right, space ship," he said weakly. "You have a space ship. Naturally."

Ignoring the red head, J'onn continued. "I was searching Mars for survivors, which I found none, when a bright beam of energy came from the sky in front of me. Unable to stop, I flew into it and was transported here. That is that."

Bruce nodded, fingers folded in front of his face. After a moment of silent contemplation, he asked, "J'onn, if you don't mind, can I see your, ah, Martian form again?"

J'onn paled. "Why do you want to see it?" he whispered, eyes locked onto Bruce.

"Because I didn't get an incredibly good look before," Bruce stated simply. "Do you mind-?"

"Ah, not at all," J'onn said, still looking surprised. "Does anybody have any objections?"

They didn't. Diana had to admit herself, she was intrigued by the concept of _aliens_. I mean, there was one standing right in front of her that could _shapeshift_. It was revolutionary.

"Well, okay." J'onn stood and crossed to the center of the room, casually moving chairs and tables out of the way as he walked. Diana watched with wide eyes as the floating furniture moved to the other end of the room.

_That's going to take some getting used to…_

John took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Instantly, his form wavered, smooth skin changed to rough green, he increased several feet in size, head elongated and became triangular and his now red eyes flew open. All together, the process was much quicker than before. It seemed less forced, more natural.

Now the Martian stood in front of them, seven feet tall and a deep shade of emerald. They looked at J'onn and J'onn looked at them. Then, Diana nearly burst out laughing as the alien gave a little turn and what looked to be a curtsey, except his body was too bulky to execute it properly. Exchanging a look with Clark, she saw he was grinning as well.

Bruce was nodding, sharply examining every inch of the Martian. "Thank you," he said abruptly. "You can change back now, if you want."

_One minute_, J'onn said, holding up one spidery finger. The Martian's thick form changed again, shrinking down to six feet, but remaining green. His form became human, save for his face, which melded into a humanoid shape, but it was oddly proportioned, with a heavy brow, thick lips and pronounced cheekbones. A black turtle neck and slacks swirled over his body, covering the green skin in an instant.

"Is this all right?" J'onn said, ignoring the group's intrigued look.

"It's all right," Selina commented. "Why the different shape?" She asked skeptically, giving the Martian a look over.

Examining his fingers and arms with great interest, John said, "I find this form to be Martian enough for my liking, but not enough that it will frighten everyone I meet."

"You weren't frightening," Diana told him.

J'onn smiled, his still red eyes warming immensely. "Your compassion is touching Diana. But you do not have to lie. I can read your thoughts. You, like everyone, were terrified upon sight of my true form."

Diana blanched. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It is all right," J'onn said. "I imagine it was frightening to you all. It's erfectly natural to be afraid."

"Master Bruce?" Alfred's voice drifted into the room. "Coffee is ready in the kitchen, when you are ready."

Diana had to give the butler credit. The man only did a quick double take upon seeing the now green J'onn and did not say anything when Wally happily told him "J'onn's a Martian." He merely blinked and offered the Martian a cup of coffee.

Grinning at Clark, Diana took a seat in Wayne Manor's enormous kitchen and accepted a cup of coffee from John. The group settled into a comfortable atmosphere, with J'onn patiently answering their many questions about Martian culture. He blushed a dark green when Wally asked him how Martians had sex and refused to answer.

No body, not even Bruce, noticed the two horrified faces in the far window peering in. Then, with a dashing grin, the taller of the two grabbed the other's hand and sprinted away across the manor's grounds, cackling to himself as the two fled.

* * *

**A/N: Ugh.** **I'm with you. This chapter... Blargh. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I just now realized Lois did not talk at all in the last chapter… That's why I hate writing dialogue for big groups. Someone is always forgotten. You brought this on yourself Kat… Ugh. Oh well!**

** I'm so sorry for not updating on Friday again. I honestly ran out of time again and didn't want to rush like last week. I'd rather update late with a good chapter than update on time with a piece of crap. Anyway, I apologize. **

** Enjoy! I'm actually happy with this one… **

Chapter 6

"Time's up. Please put down your pencil and pass your tests up," Mr. Crane drawled from the front of the class.

Groans were heard from the class, followed by the sound of pencils clattering to the table and the scribbles from students as they dashed down last minute answers.

"West, that means you!" Crane snapped, rising from his desk, blue eyes narrowing in contempt.

Wally swore under his breath and reluctantly set down his pencil. As he passed his exam to Edward Nigma in front of him, he muttered to Diana, "I swear to God, if I pass Crane's Psychology exam, I will strip naked in front of Principal Waller and do the Macarena."

"I'll hold you to that." Diana smirked. "Just, strip down to your boxers. I want to see it if it happens and I'd rather not see your genitals."

Wally grunted, but then turned to at Diana with a sly grin. "I bet I know whose genitals you want to see. A certain brooding, dark haired –"

Diana sent him a shut-up-or-die glare as Crane passed her and gave her an extremely dirty look. The bell rang just outside the door, signaling the end of the day, and thankfully, the end of the semester.

"Whoop!" Wally cheered as he bobbed up and down the hallway crowded with chattering students. "School's out for winter, bitches! Rejoice! Hallelujah! Feel the taste of freedom!" He practically screamed in a passing sophomore's face.

"Wally, shut up," John said, rolling his eyes as he came up next to Diana.

"Ugh, John you're such a party pooper!" Wally stuck his tongue out at the other boy. "Hey, Diana, are we going to Bruce's after school or no?"

Ever since Diana, Wally, John, Clark, Selina and Bruce had discovered J'onn's secret, they had met up after school at Wayne Manor every day to educate J'onn about Earth culture. Though, that didn't really turn out as planned. They ended up just trying to teach J'onn how to make waffles and watch reruns of Pokémon for hours on end. The group had gotten considerably closer just in the last week alone. Diana supposed that finding out one of your friends was from Mars would do that.

"I don't think so," Diana said, opening her locker with one hand and balancing her books on the other. "I think Bruce wants to go home and sleep after exams, and we can only really hang out at his house, so unless we want to go to J'onn's freezing cold warehouse, then it's a no on that. Plus, I have to do Christmas shopping."

"Ooh, for me?" Wally asked, waggling his eyebrows at Diana.

"Maybe." She grinned slyly at the redhead. "Maybe not. Hi Clark! Hi J'onn-oh, sorry! John."

J'onn smiled warmly at Diana. "It is all right. I think everyone is too preoccupied in their own business to be concerned with listening to us talk. "

"Well, you can never be too careful," John told J'onn and Diana pointedly.

Clark nodded in agreement. "Right, so I heard you say no go on hanging today? Cool, that means Lois and I can go out. Say, J'onn, what are your plans for the holiday?"

J'onn's nose wrinkled. "It is Christmas, correct? Holiday season?"

Clark nodded energetically. "Exactly!"

J'onn nodded, thinking slightly. Then, he said, "This time of the year holds no meaning for me. So I will most likely spend my time at the library."

Clark looked aghast. "Well, that won't do at all! The library isn't even open during the holidays!" He clasped an arm about J'onn's shoulders. "You'll just have to come home with me for the holidays!"

J'onn looked at Clark is surprise. "I could never intrude on such an occasion-"

"Nonsense!" Clark cried, all smiles and cheer. "We've got a spare room and Ma and Pa will love you! They like meeting people. Especially aliens!"

The group froze. "You told your parents?" John said incredulously.

Clark looked nonplussed. "Well, yea. But don't worry, they won't tell," he reassured them.

Diana was dumbfounded at his attitude. "Clark," she began slowly, struggling not to lose her temper. "Are-are you insane?"

J'onn silenced her with a look. "If Clark believes his parents can be trusted, then they can be trusted. And, it would probably be beneficial for me to witness such an important human custom. So, I will accept-"

"Brilliant!" Clark burst out. Seizing John by the arms, he starting dragging the disguised Martian towards the door, shouting over his shoulder, "We'll call you later this week, okay? Meet up for a movie or gift exchange or something! Later! Come on, J'onn! Wait 'til you taste Ma's apple pie; it's to die for!"

Grinning slightly, she turned to a still stunned looking Wally and John, the latter whose eye had developed a serious twitch.

"I cannot believe he told his parents," John said, staring after Clark's retreating form.

Diana laughed. "J'onn was fine with it, so relax! Hey, I'm going to go!" She gave the two quick hugs. "Have a great break, and like Clark said, let's all meet up soon! Bye!"

_**Four Days Later – Christmas Day **_

Diana laughed loudly as Donna sneezed, sending wrapping paper flying in all directions.

"Shut it, Di!" Donna snapped, rubbing her nose. "I'm sick, remember?"

"I don't think having a mild headache and a 97 degree temperature means you're sick," Diana told her teasingly. "Oooh." she broke off, looking at the newly unwrapped present in her lap. "_A Room of One's Own_! Thanks Don! I've been meaning to pick this up from the bookstore since forever!"

"Yea, I know you like all that feminism stuff," Donna said thickly through the tissue clasped to her nose.

"I think that's it," Ms. Prince said, looking around the room from where she was perched on top of the couch.

Diana quickly picked up the discarded wrapping paper and stuffed it in the large trash bag she had hung from the mantelpiece for trash. As she pecked her mother on the cheek, the doorbell suddenly rang loudly, echoing through their large house with a resounding 'ding'.

"I'll get it," Diana called, which was pointedly ignored by Donna, who was taking pictures of her feet with her new camera, and by her mother, who had pulled out her laptop and was typing furiously on it. Diana sighed, grabbed her phone and trudged to the door.

"Coming, I'm coming!" She shouted. She opened the door and nearly passed out on the spot. "Steve?"

"Surprise!" Steve Trevor yelled, swooping her into a one armed hug, balanced a stack of present in the other hand. He kissed her firmly on the mouth and pulled back grinning like a mad man. "Merry Christmas, Di!"

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Diana spluttered, still staring at Steve.

Steve strolled past her, not waiting to be invited in. "I'm got off break last week and since we hadn't talked in a while, I decided to drop down as a surprise!"

"Oh my god, Steve!" Donna shrieked. "Mom! Steve's here!"

"I know!" Ms. Prince's voice drifted back to them. "He called me to make sure it was okay if he drove down."

"And you didn't tell me?" Diana snapped. "Why didn't you ask me if you could come?" She snarled at Steve.

Steve's face fell. "Why are you getting mad?" He asked in confusion.

Diana took a small step back and sighed. "Sorry, I guess I'm just still surprised. Here, I'll show you up to your room. Come on." She grabbed Steve's bag from where it lay on the porch outside.

Steve right behind her, she led him up to the guest room, heart beating frantically.

_Crap, oh crap! Steve, Steve is here. Steve is in Chesterfield. I mean, I'm happy to see him, but. . . Wha-what if I do something dumb? In front of Bruce? What if Steve notices I have feelings for…? No. No, everything will be fine. Just fine. What's the worst thing that could happen?_

"Here we are," Diana said dully, opening the door to the small room with no enthusiasm whatsoever. "I know it's a bit small, but it'll do. . ." She trailed off, waiting for Steve to speak.

Said boy peered around the room with interest, taking in the lumpy blue comforter, the pale yellow paint on the wall and the flickering light on the ceiling. "I think it's great!" He said with far too much enthusiasm. He set his suitcase down just inside in the room and shrugged off his beat up bomber jacket.

"Okay, well, if that's it. . . " Diana turned to go.

"Wait, Di?"

Diana turned back to the room and was instantly crushed against the wall by Steve, him pressing his lips to hers frantically.

"God, I missed you," he breathed heavily against her mouth.

"Mgff, Steve!" Diana hissed, pulling away from him. "What are you doing?"

Steve's expression was both confused and hurt. "What do you mean? I missed you. I haven't seen you in ages and-"

He was cut off by the doorbell ringing again loudly. There was a pattering of footsteps downstairs and the sound of a door being opened, then Ms. Prince's voice calling, "Diana, it's for you! Come down here and let Steve settle in!"

Diana did not look at Steve as she quietly left the room.

_Ah, crap. What did I just do? Ugh, how am I going to explain this? It's going to be so awkward… _

She got to the foyer and internally swore. Standing in the doorway were Clark and J'onn, both pink faced from the cold and wrapped in layers of sweaters.

"Hi Clark! Hi J'onn!" Diana said with forced cheeriness. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Clark chirped. "We come bearing gifts!" He held up a large, gold wrapped package that was donned with a red bow.

"Oh, great!" Diana smiled, thoughts drifting back to Steve alone upstairs, probably confused beyond belief.

Donna peered around the kitchen doorway, sensing the presence of major eye candy. Her eyes roamed appreciably over Clark, lingering just for a moment on his lower torso, before moving to J'onn.

"Oh, so you must be John Jones?" She asked, arching delicate eyebrows at Diana. "Pleasure to meet you!" She stepped out from behind the door and extending a hand to the dark skinned boy, who promptly assumed the look appropriate of a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"Who's John Jones?"

_Shit. _

Steve had come down from upstairs, looking rather pale faced, and now suspicious, eyes darting from Diana to J'onn rapidly.

"Oh, oh, no one!" Diana cried. "No one at all!"

"Who are you?" Clark asked, warily eyeing this stranger.

"Steve Trevor."

"Oh." Clark offered a hand, now a look of polite welcoming on his face. "Clark Kent. Nice to meet you. How do you know Diana?"

Steve gave him an odd look. "I'm her boyfriend?"

Clark blanched. "Diana has a boyfriend?"

All eyes went to Diana, who was frozen in the corner.

_Shitshitshit. _

"You-you didn't tell them about me?" Steve asked, tone now defiantly hurt. "Didn't even mention me?"

Diana's mouth opened and closed without making a sound.

"And who's John Jones?" Steve asked again, voice now getting louder and angrier as his temper heated up.

"He-he's no one," Diana said, shrinking into the wall.

Steve instantly rounded on Donna. "Don, who is John Jones?"

Donna looked from Diana to Steve and back to Diana, then swallowed and mouthed _"Sorry"' _to Diana before saying, "They went to the Winter Wonderland dance together last weekend. As, like, a date."

"It was not a date!" Diana exploded. "I barely even know the guy!"

Ignoring J'onn's now crestfallen expression, Steve turned back to Diana. "So, you admit to going to a dance with him!"

Diana's eyes grew wide as she realized what she had mistakenly confessed to.

Steve took a step back, face hardening. "That's it. I'm done." He turned and pounded back up the steps. Diana almost went after him, but it would have made no difference. Steve came down a few second alter, suitcase at his side and face trembling with rage. He threw open the door and stalked outside into the cold without saying a word.

"Steve. . ." Diana instantly followed him out. She slipped slightly on the steps going down and nearly plunged headfirst into the fresh snow drifts outside. Slipper covered feet already numbing from the impossible cold, she stumbled after Steve in desperation. "Steve, I didn't mean for anything like this to happen!"

"No I'm sure you didn't!" Steve yelled, stopping and revolving to face her, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I bet you didn't plan to get caught, but you did! You can't change that!"

"No," Diana protested, feet now positively frozen. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I was just trying to-"

Steve held up a hand. "Diana, I don't want to hear any excuses. I have had it with you. Ever since you moved out here, you've barely spoken to me. You won't respond to my texts, my calls, I even tried emailing you! Do you know how many people email nowadays? No one! Just old ladies and girls who obsess over fictional characters for hours on end! And-and then you go out with some random fuckin' dude to dance! And I don't care if it was a date or not! You still went with him without talking to me! I would have been fine with it by the way! And now, you _clearly_ don't want me to be here, so you can go off and fantasize about Bruce or whatever without any distractions."

Diana's blood ran cold. "How in earth do you know about Bruce? Oh my god, Donna?"

"Don't blame your sister for your mistakes!" Steve snarled. "You left your phone in the guest room when you showed me up there. You got some text from a guy named Wally –and really, Wally? What kind of a name is that? You got some text from some guy named Wally about _Bruce_ so I read your most recent messages-"

"You read my messages?" Diana cried incredulously "You had no right to do that!"

"I think I had every right," Steve snarled. "I find you've been crushing on this Bruce Wayne for weeks now and I haven't heard about it at all! We were a couple Diana, we're supposed to work past this stuff together!"

"Wait, were?" Diana's spirits plummeted.

Steve stared at her. "What? You didn't think I was going to continue, did you?" He turned and began to walk away again. "Bye, Diana. Have a nice life."

He wrenched open the door to his beat up green pickup parked in front of the house and was gone in seconds, leaving Diana outside in the snow.

_Merry Christmas to me_, she thought miserably as a single tear made its way down her face and the falling snow caught lightly in her hair.

"Master Bruce, please do eat something other than that, what do you call it?" Alfred's tired voice said from where the butler was cleaning up wrapping paper from the drawing room.

"It's an organic blend of vegetables and fruit," Bruce shouted back, taking another sip of the neon green drink.

"Lovely. By the way, you received a call from Mister Clark not five minutes ago. You were in shower, so I told him I would have you call him back."

"I'll call him later." Bruce settled into a chair and flipped open the laptop on his lap. Clicking through pages of newspaper articles, he was just getting comfortable when the doorbell rang loudly. He heard Alfred making his way to the door, then the sound of the door opening. A few words were exchanged, then, "Master Bruce, someone is here to see you."

Bruce groaned and heaved himself up from chair, setting his laptop on a side table. Trudging to the door, he said, "Who is it?" Then, he caught side of the person leaning easily against the door frame and his entire day was ruined.

"Merry Christmas, Bruce!" Jack Napier grinned broadly, Harley Quinzel bobbing up and down at his side, wearing her own maniacal grin. "Mind if we come in? It's a bit chilly out here," Jack drawled, eyeing Bruce out of the corners of his eyes.

"What do you want?" Bruce demanded, ignoring his request.

"Oh, Bruce! Come on! It's Christmas! Can't we pretend to be friends just for today?" Jack turned to Alfred. "May we cross the threshold, good sir?"

Alfred looked slightly taken aback, but said, "Of course. Do come in. Might I take your coats?"

"Thanks Jeeves," Jack said as he shrugged off his plum colored coat and dumped it onto Alfred. "Harley, you heard the man! Give him your coat!"

"What do you want?" Bruce repeated as Harley as well threw her coat to Alfred.

Jack smiled again, this time with a dark gleam in his eyes. "Is there somewhere private where we can talk?"

Bruce looked at him silently, but eventually gestured wordlessly to follow him to the drawing room.

"Shall I fetch you some refreshments?" Alfred asked as he carefully hung Jack and Harley's coats in a side closet, nose wrinkled slightly.

"Not necessary," Jack said, strolling after Bruce with ease. "We won't be here long. "

The two visitors entered the drawing room, and with a glower, Bruce shut the door behind them. When he turned back around, Jack was lounging on one of the plush couches and Harley was clinging to his arm with an almost possessive look on her face.

"Well, I'll get right to it, rich boy," Jack said nonchalantly, examining his dirty nails with a glance. "We know."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, sitting tersely on the chair opposite them. "Know what?"

"About your Martian friend, of course!" Harley chirped from Jack's side. "J'onn, right? Yea, that's the one!"

Bruce's breath caught in his throat. He opened and closed his mouth several times without making a sound.

"Really, Bruce," Jack said, grinning. "You really need to more aware of your surroundings! Someone can be, ah, _peeking in your windows_ at any time."

"You-you what?'

"Yep! You heard me! I know everything. Aliens, backstory, family, you name it!" Jack chuckled darkly under his breath.

Bruce swallowed, mouth feeling as dry as sawdust. "What do you want?"

"Simple really." Jack pried Harley's grip off of him and leaned forward to look Bruce dead in the eyes. "We want in."

"Not going to happen," Bruce said automatically.

"Aw, come on-"

"No."

"You sure about that?" Jack whispered, teetering on the edge of his seat. "You really don't want me as your enemy."

"Oh, what's the worse you could do to me?" Bruce snarled, though his heart was beginning to race with fear.

Jack eyed him for a minute, then starting to laugh. It was a terrible, almost mocking sound. The "Ha Ha"s and "He He"s echoed through the house for minutes as Bruce stared at him in trepidation and Harley gazed adoringly into Jack's face. Standing up, Joker grinned broadly at Bruce, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "I'll see you around, Bruce!" Seizing Harley by the arm, the two left. Bruce heard footsteps, them rummaging around in the closet for their coats, and then the front door slamming shut.

Bruce sat there in shock for a minute, mind quickly deciphering the situation. Jack knew, Harley knew, it was manageable. He stood up and dug around in his pocket for a minute, then withdrew his phone. Tapping several buttons, he put it to his ear. It rang twice, then Clark's voice said, "Hello, Bruce?"

"Jack Napier and Harley Quinn know about the Joker," Bruce said bluntly.

There was silence for a minute. "Well, shit," Clark said.

Bruce nearly dropped the phone in shock. Clark _never _swore, and he meant never. Clark was Mr. Boy-Scout-Mama's-Boy.

"Clark, is something wrong?"

"No." Bruce heard Clark sigh. "Okay, yea, it's Diana. She…did you know she had a boyfriend?"

Bruce groaned. "No, why? Did she do something stupid?"

"Well, kind of. Steve, that's his name, came to visit for Christmas I think, and he found out about Diana going to the Wonderland dance with J'onn and apparently they've been having problems and I'm pretty sure he just broke up with her. Diana came in and went right up to her room, but that's what I'm guessing."

Bruce rubbed the bridge of his nose, now feeling more exhausted than he had in months. "Well, forget that. We've got a bigger problem than Diana's relationship problems."

"Yea we do! How the heck did Jack and Harley find out about J'onn?"

"They snuck onto the grounds and eavesdropped on us through the window," Bruce said, now beginning to pace the length of the drawing room. "Damn, I was so stupid! How did I not see them?"

"Bruce, we are all bit wrapped up at the moment," Clark said consolingly. "It's not your fault."

"Yea, whatever," Bruce muttered.

"So what are we going to do?" Clark asked, swallowing.

"I'm sure I'll think of something," Bruce muttered, then abruptly hung up.

* * *

As soon as the call ended, Clark seized J'onn, who was talking to Donna about the anatomy of sea turtles of all things, and dragged him back into the cold with a cry of "Thank you, but we really should be off. Merry Christmas!"

"Clark, what is the problem?" J'onn asked as Clark continued to haul him through snowdrifts with fierce determination. "I can sense frustration and worry radiating off of you in an incredibly alarming rate."

Clark slowed down and relinquished his grip on the other boy, but did not stop walking. Finally, he said with extreme reluctance, "Jack Napier and Harley Quinn know about your...origins."

J'onn's face did not change, save for his dark brown eyes taking on a distinctively red gleam. "What do you propose we do?"

"I don't know," Clark admitted. "They tried to talk Bruce into letting them in on our little 'gang' but Bruce denied them that. So, I figure we better go talk to Jack and Harley before things get any worse. God, it's Christmas too! I'm supposed to be having fun, not watching messy break ups and talking to clowns like them."

J'onn did not say anything for a minute. "So, where are we going now?"

Clark slipped and nearly fell on a patch of ice, but regained his balance less than smoothly. "Jack doesn't really live at _his_ house. His parents kind of kicked him out and rented out a house a block from here for him, and Harley is always over there. I figure that if we're looking for them, they're probably there."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, only stopping once they reached their point of destination. It was surprisingly relatively non-creepy looking. White paint, mowed grass, a purple car was in the drive way, but other than that, normal. And then they reached the door. The first red flag was the extremely creepy circus music that began playing as soon as they climbed onto the porch. The second flag was the Barbie head tacked just above the doorbell that had been painted with red, black and white paint to look like a clown. The last and definitely most disturbing sight was the red stained Welcome mat placed neatly in front of the door.

"Clark, are you sure about this?" J'onn asked, eyeing the Barbie head warily.

"Yea, sure!" Clark said, looking extremely nervous himself. Hesitantly, he reached up and knocked on the door.

Instantly, the door flew open and Harley Quinn catapulted herself out of the threshold, stopping just an inch away from crashing into Clark.

"Oh." Her normally cheerful face fell upon sight of him. "It's you. I thought you were the mailman. You look like the mailman. Boring, stupid, blunderi- J'onn! Wow, look at you. Hey, Jay!" She hollered over her shoulder, back into the house. "Come see who's come a-knockin!"

Clark heard bounding footsteps get closer, and then Jack burst out of a window to their right. His face looked like it was blackened with soot and grime, and his brown hair was tinged a vivid shade of green. Popping up from the ground like this was a normal occurrence, he exclaimed, "Oh, Clarky, ol' pal. So lovely of you to drop by. And J'onn. I don't think we have officially met. You don't know me and I know all about you." His eyes narrowed and he grinned.

"Might we come in?" J'onn asked without a tremor of fear in his voice, though Clark noticed beads of sweat forming at the base of his neck.

"Oh, of course! Where are my manners?" Jack shook his head and danced over to the doorway, where he wrapped an arm around Harley's waist and gestured to Clark and J'onn to enter. Prancing ahead, he called, "Come along. Time's a-wastin'. Much to do, much to do!"

"We won't be here long," Clark said, closing the door from the freezing snow behind the two as they entered. "We just have to clear some things up."

"Actually, we won't be discussing much," J'onn said in a suddenly strange voice.

Harley and Jack stopped their odd little dance. "Really?" Jack asked, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "You're not going to try and talk me out of spilling your little secret to the world? 'Cause don't worry, I wasn't going to! You're too great of a toy to ruin before I've had time to play with you!"

"I'm afraid none of that will happen," J'onn said, taking a few steps towards Jack and Harley. He removed his right glove and extended his now bare hand towards them. "It is too great of a risk to have you know of my origin." His eyes began to glow red. "This is how we deal with criminals on Mars."

"J'onn what are you-?" Clark asked, stepping towards J'onn apprehensively. Then, Harley screamed out in pain and slumped over on the ground, eyes blank and mouth slightly open. Clark and Jack stared wordlessly at her body for a moment in shock.

"What the hell did you do?" Clark whispered, but J'onn ignored him. The Martian turned to Jack, suddenly seeming ten feet tall with his Godlike power.

"Oh, come on now!" Jack cried. "There's no need for things to get rough, really! Can't we just talk this out?"

"No," John said. His eyes glowed a fiercer red than before and Jack immediately dropped to the floor beside his girlfriend.

"J'onn, stop it, stop it!" Clark shouted now seizing J'onn by the waist and physically attempting to drag him away from Jack. J'onn lowered his hand, but his eyes remained an intense red. Jack did not cry out as Harley had, but convulsed several times on the ground before going limp and blank faced.

"J'onn…" Clark trailed off, looking helplessly at the two unconscious teenagers on the floor. "What did you do?"

"I removed any memories even _hinting _about my origin and home world," J'onn stated simply.

Clark stared at him. "You…erased their minds?"

"No," J'onn said, slipping his glove back on. "I did not remove all their memories. Only those that put me or any of you at risk. They will remember only the fact that I am a transfer student from Canada."

Clark opened and closed his mouth several times, emitting only a strangled gurgle several times. "J'onn," he said weakly. "You can't do that. It's wrong."

"It was necessary."

"But _wrong_!" Clark cried, gesturing to the bodies on the floor as he spoke. "It-It's cruel and invasive and-and you can't just pervert someone's mind like that!"

"It was a common form of punishment on Mars," J'onn said, now sounding confused.

"Yea, well we're not on Mars, are we, J'onn?" Clark said coldly.

J'onn seemed a bit taken aback at this comment. He looked away and swallowed. "Thank you for reminding me of that Clark," he said through gritted teeth before throwing the door open and disappearing into the whirling snow.

* * *

**A/N: Okay. That's done. Reviews are very much appreciated as always. Comment if you hate it, comment if you love it, or if you just have anything you'd like to see in the story, comment! They make my day infinitely better. Thank you! **

**EDIT: PLEASE READ I've been getting a few comments asking if Clark and everyone will be getting their powers, and the answer is no. Only J'onn is an alien here. Clark will not become Superman, Diana is not really an Amazon. They all have hints to their original characters, but will not become the Justice League. And also, to the few people who asked, just because I didn't say Mr. and Mrs. Kent freaked out about finding out J'onn was from Mars, doesn't mean they didn't. I didn't write their reaction, but as far as I'm concerned, they _did_freak out until Clark patiently expalined the situation to them. Then, when J'onn was introduced, they asked him to show his form, to which he complied, and seeing as Ma and Pa are loving souls, didn't think twice about it.**

**Okay, another thing, this is NOT A BATMAN/WONDER WOMAN STORY. I might have already stated this, but I shall say it again: I see Wonder Woman and Batman's romantic relationship being very one sided. In my head, she has a massive thing for him but it is not returned. Bruce thinks she's gorgeous and admires her, but they're just friends. The only people Bruce should ever be in an intimate relationship with is either Catwoman or Superman. In this case, Catwoman.**

**Last thing, don't worry, the story will get more action-y. I haven't even introduced the main villain yet. So, just be patient. There will be more Bruce, there will be more Clark, and there will be more Lois. Your questions about Bruce will be answered in a few chapters. Just chill.**

**Okay, just wanted to clear something up that needed to be addressed sooner than my next update. See you next week, folks. I will try to be on time, I promise.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for being a day late. I had this done on Friday, but it still needed to be beta'd and I didn't get the edited version until this morning. My apologies.  
First part can be considered filler by some. I don't think it is, but that's me...Thank you so much for all the reviews and favorites! Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

J'onn disappeared right after that. Clark drove himself home and was dismayed to find that J'onn was not there. Ma told Clark in a low voice that J'onn had returned without him just to gather the few belongings he had brought with him and thank Ma and Pa for letting him intrude on such a occasion before leaving.

Clark had sunk into the wall in momentary self-loathing and a desperate want to take back his words and actions from just ten minutes ago. Why did they even go to see Jack and Harley? What in the hell had they hoped to achieve? Clark sighed, running a tired hand over his face. He would go see if J'onn was in the warehouse the next morning, but first he needed to tell Bruce what had happened. But, later. . . Clark was exhausted and angry and confused as to why J'onn would erase a person's mind like that without asking Clark about it. It was. . .

Injustice.

* * *

Steve left Diana in the snow, and she stood there, frozen with shock and cold, more and more tears making their way down her face one by one. At another time, she would have laughed at the thought of her standing there in mismatched pajamas and slippers, but now, she felt only misery. Steve, loveable, funny, sweet Steve, was gone. Diana had hoped that, through all of her mistakes, through all of her errors, he would still be there, as friend. But, such dreams only came true in fairy tales.

Dimly, she felt her feet turn and began a slow stumble back to the house. She opened the door with numb fingers. Heard Donna's blabbering apologies, but did not respond. Saw Clark's confused and hurt face, but did not stop to explain. _Felt _J'onn's hardened gaze pierce her body, but did not, could not, face him. She just kept walking. Up the stairs, down the hall, and stopped in Steve's abandoned room. He had left the door ajar. The light in the room was still on, and the blue comforter on the bed was rumpled. Her phone lay amid its folds, screen lighting up with messages from Wally no doubt. And on the bedside table, was a large present wrapped in red and tied with a gold shimmering ribbon. Red and gold. . . Red was Steve's favorite color and gold was hers. Red and gold. . .

Her fingers trembled as she undid the ribbon and delicately removed the wrapping paper. Inside the box was another box. Steve was always doing this gag. Her last three birthday presents had all been at least four boxes within larger boxes, the most recent starting out larger than her forearm, and ending with an envelope containing tickets to the sold out _The Civil Wars _concert at Madison Square Garden.

This gift had five boxes inside it, until at last she came to a cream white envelope addressed to her and a blue velvet ring box. Barely breathing, she opened the envelope and pulled out a small notecard, Steve's hasty writing all over it.

_Dearest Diana, _

_Don't worry, I'm not proposing. At least not yet. _

_I know I'm not perfect, and you are far too good for me, but here we are, together. What has it been, four years since we first got together? God, it feels like it's been so much longer. These last few months have been hard for me to be without you. Not a day goes by when I don't wish I was right next to you constantly. I hope you think of me as well. _

_I said I wasn't proposing, and I'm not. But this IS a ring. This is something better than marriage (at least for us at this time). This, this is a promise. A promise to always be there for you, to always be fateful, and to always put you first in my life. I love you Diana Prince, I really do. _

_So, what do you think, babe? _

Diana nearly broke down again right there and then. But, Diana wasn't much of crier, and she had cried all the tears her body would give. She picked up the small velvet box with hesitant fingers and flipped it open. Inside, nestled among silk, was a silver ring adorned with a single ruby. It must have cost Steve a fortune. . . Diana pushed the thought away. No point thinking about things she didn't want to know about.

Her phone buzzed again and Diana instinctively reached for it.

_Damn, it's from Steve…_

She tapped the screen to read the message and two words appeared on the display.

"Forget it."

And Diana cracked. She fell against the bed, sobbing as she balled the comforter in her hands. God, she had been so stupid. So damn full of pride. Her mother had told her that her pride would be a problem, just like it was to her father. Diana couldn't even tell one of her closest allies she no longer had romantic feelings for him. She had never wanted to hurt Steve. She just hadn't thought about his feelings. She wasn't angry with him; she didn't blame anything on him. The fault was hers and hers alone. She felt emotions bubble up inside of her, along with another angry wail. Embarrassment, sadness and the smallest amount of relief. Was that wrong of her to be a little happy Steve was gone? Now, that embarrassment and sadness was replaced with something else. . .

Regret.

* * *

Bruce sank into the ornate chair next to his bed, cell phone held loosely in his hands. His ears were ringing with what Clark had just told him. J'onn had taken memories from Jack and Harley. He had _taken their memories. _In all other situations, Bruce would have instantly decreed an action such as this as immoral and wrong. But in this situation. . . Jack and Harley would have no doubt made their lives individual hells if they had continue to know J'onn's origins. This is was probably for the better. But it didn't make it right.

Bruce wondered what had pushed J'onn to that edge. The mild mannered Martian did not strike Bruce as the type of person to _invade_ someone's mind such as this. So what had been his motivation? Fear? Anger? The feeling that he was infinitely more powerful than the insects he surrounded himself with? He could kill them all in a heartbeat. Put them all in a catatonic state or telepathically break every bone in their bodies or rip their hearts from their chests with a mere thought. . . The possibilities were endless.

Bruce had been pushed to the edge of that abyss only once in his life. He was fifteen. Joe Chill, the man who had murdered Bruce's parents, was being granted parole due to him trading information about Gotham's biggest crime lord, Carmine Falcone. That _murderer _was going to walk free and Bruce was going to kill him. He would have, Bruce has no doubt of that. The gun was in his pocket; he was fingering the handle slowly as he watched Chill not ten feet from him. But someone beat him too it. One minute Chill was exiting the court house, and the next he was lying in the streets with a bullet in his head. Bruce had stood over the bloody mess, his own body numb and the gun feeling like a thousand pounds in his pocket. That day, he vowed never again to even touch a gun.

Anger. Guilt. Fear. Those were the things that motivated people to do things. Not love or compassion. More...embarrassment. Terror.

Rage.

* * *

Clark went to the warehouse the next morning, only to find J'onn was not there. J'onn did not resurface for the rest of the holidays. After a week of looking and trying to find ways to contact him, Clark gave up and hoped that J'onn would come back on his own.

On the ninth of January, school started back up for the second semester. It was still brutally cold and the bright, fluffy snow had turned to sleet and ice. Diana's breath came out in puffs as she hurried across the parking lot along with her peers, all equally bundled up in scarves and sweaters as they exchanged stories through chattering teeth.

Diana slipped into first period Enviormental Science a few seconds before the bell rang. She exchanged a look with Clark, who was on the opposite side of the classroom with Lois leaning against him as she read a copy of the school's newspaper, _The Chesterfield Review_. He smiled surpringsly warmly at her, before nudging Lois off of him and turning away from Diana. Diana sighed and reached into her bag for her books, when a voice interrupted her.

"Hello, Diana."

"What?" Diana nearly banged her head on the underside of the desk as she came up. "J'onn? What-how-why-?"

J'onn chuckled. "Nice to see you as well."

"J'onn. . . Where the hell have you been? Clark looked everywhere for you!" Diana hissed as Ms. Isley stalked into the room and began to take roll.

"I made amends with Clark this morning." J'onn removed his books from his back and placed them neatly on his desk. "I was hoping to meet with everyone else this afternoon to clear some things up."

Diana eyed him suspiciously. "Fine," she eventually said. "Wayne Manor. After school."

J'onn nodded and turned away. "Thank you."

"What the hell J'onn?"

"You mind erased Jack?"

""Yea, what's the matter with you?"

"And Harley?"

"Why in earth would you do that?"

"Why can't I mind erase people?"

"Shut up Wally and let the Martian explain himself."

"Oh my god, fine! Sheesh, Clark, you're grumpy today. Lois, maybe you and him need to do a little-"

"That's enough!" Clark interrupted loudly, eyes widening and sending terrified looks towards a suddenly sly looking Lois on his lap.

J'onn cleared his throat slightly. Every head in the room turned to him, save for Bruce, who was sitting stock still in the corner, detached from the main group.

"I just want to apologize for the extreme stress and anger I've caused for you all in these past few weeks," J'onn began. "I realize now that my methods are not necessarily approved by the people of Earth. However, I believe-"

"It was necessary."

Now all eyes moved to Bruce, who had spoken for the first time since they had gathered at Wayne Manor. Bruce stood up from his chair and faced the room.

"It was necessary," he repeated, eyes unusually bright. Swallowing, Bruce looked away, before abruptly leaving the room. He hesitated next to where Clark sat on the velvet couch, tapped him on the shoulder and then left, the door slamming shut behind him.

"Excuse me." Clark smiled apologetically. He moved a mildly protesting Lois off his lap, kissed her on the cheek and followed Bruce out of the room.

"What-?" Diana asked but Lois cut her off.

"Let them go," Lois said, eyes tracking Clark's path out of the room. "They'll be back soon."

"Well, I for one am not okay with this," Wally said sourly, digging a pack of skittles from out of his coat pocket. "Not okay at all."

"It doesn't really matter if you're okay with it or not," John said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's done is done; you can't change it. You can walk out of here if you want."

"No, you cannot just walk out!" Lois said, sounding outraged. "Wally is a part of this no matter what he thinks! He doesn't have to agree with all of J'onn's actions, but he can't just walk away! Right, Selina?" She looked towards the ebony haired girl in the back of the group.

"Don't drag me into this," Selina said, examining her red nails with a critical eye.

"Well, you've got to have an opinion," Lois said flatly. "Everyone has one."

Selina stooped and picked up her leather clutch and buttoned up her coat. "Personally, I don't care what the idiot does. He's not my friend." She began to exit the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Lois shouted, temper heating up.

"Tell Bruce I got bored and left."

Now it was just John, Wally, Diana, Lois and J'onn in the room. Wally was looking extremely hurt as he gazed after Selina, Lois was outraged , while John and Diana were left standing awkwardly to the side, eyes downcast. J'onn was reduced to lifting up various statues and books around the room one at a time, until Alfred popped his head in and offered them a tray of scones.

Alfred seemed to pick up on the awkwardness of the situation and made small talk about school, the holidays, exams, anything but J'onn's recent actions. Diana noticed Lois kept stealing glances at the door, as if she was waiting for Clark to walk back in, but he never did.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," Diana snapped. "I'm going up there!"

"No, Diana!" Lois warned, looking up from her blueberry scone. "They don't like to be interrupted!" But Diana ignored her.

"Fine! Do what you want!" Lois yelled after her. "They're probably at the first door on the left at the top of the stairs!"

"Which stairs? There are like five different sets of stairs here!"

"The one farthest from you!"

Diana stomped up the marble stairs, her only intent to drag the two boys back to the drawing room and clean up the remnants of this mess they were in. Once she reached the stairs, she wrenched the door on her right open and stormed inside. Instantly, she stopped dead and stood, frozen at the scene in front of her.

Clark and Bruce were sitting on a pull out bed, legs outreached before them. A purple throw blanket was tucked neatly around Clark's body and a pillow was in his lap. On this pillow rested one of Bruce's bare feet. In Clark's hand was a bottle of lemon scented moisturizer and his hands were frozen in the action of massaging Bruce's feet. Said owner of the feet was wearing a blue snuggie and had a bag of popcorn on his chest. Diana's eyes moved from the two to around the room. The room was bare; the only light in the dim room came from the TV, which was showing a muted _Lion King_. As she watched, an animated lion silently pranced around the screen with a red warthog and a meerkat.

"What the hell?" Diana said weakly.

"What?" Both boys asked nonchalantly.

"This is what you do when you just…leave?"

"Um, yea.." Clark exchanged a look with Bruce. "What'd you think we were doing?"

"Everyone says you two have been, I dunno, _sleeping _together since the seventh grade!" Diana burst out.

Immediately, Clark burst out laughing. Between his peals of laughter, he gasped out "You do know everyone knows that we just watch Disney movies up here, right? They've known since Wally walked in on us watching _Bambi_ a few years ago!"

At that moment, Diana felt incredibly stupid. Of course they hadn't been sleeping together. She didn't know why she ever considered that. Maybe it was just cause everyone said it was true. . .

"Hey, we're out of popcorn," Bruce muttered, holding up the bag as proof.

Clark sighed. "'Kay, I'll go make some more." He shoved Bruce's foot off his lap and snatched the bag from his hands. As he passed Diana he murmured, "He's still feeling sort of bad. Don't make him angry." He shut the door quietly behind him and Diana was left alone with Bruce on the couch, still wrapped in his snuggie.

"So," Diana said after an awkward pause. "You like Disney movies?"

"No."

"Then why are you watching one?" Diana said, exasperated.

"Clark really likes Simba."

Diana looked at him for a moment. Enveloped in the snuggie, with one bare foot still resting where Clark had dumped it and popcorn flakes stuck in his hair, Diana had to admit, Bruce looked a little pathetic.

"Really?" Diana asked as she gently made her way to sit down in Clark's abandoned spot. "Clark likes Simba a lot? Clark?"

Bruce was unresponsive.

"Bruce, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Bruce you don't have to lie-"

"Nothing Diana!" Bruce snapped, tearing his eyes off the still muted TV for the first time in minutes.

"Oh my god." Diana sighed. "You cannot keep shutting people out like this. You need to talk to someone! If not me, then at least Selina!"

"Selina is wonderful but absolute crap at understanding feelings other than her own," Bruce retorted. "Now, Clark just played therapist with me for half an hour, so there. I have talked to someone."

They now faded into an uneasy silence as Bruce resumed a deadpan stare at the characters dancing silently across the screen of the TV. Diana was just about to open her mouth to excuse herself when Bruce spoke.

"What do you think about this whole situation?"

Diana was taken aback. "What-?"

"I think it was completely necessary for J'onn to erase Jack and Harley's minds. But, still. At the same time I hate it." Bruce shuddered. "It's a horrible thought. To think, J'onn has the ability to search someone's mind and _remove _memories. It's almost like he's removing a part of them along with the thoughts and feelings of Jack and Harley."

Diana was frozen, looking at Bruce with her mouth slightly open.

"I'm no fan of Jack to be sure," Bruce whispered, drawing his feet to his chest. "Right when I switched to Chesterfield - I was fourteen - I came across Jack in an alleyway alone. As I watched from the shadows, I watched him light a cat on fire. I called the police, and they came to pick him up, but he saw me. That day I saw that evil doesn't just exist in drug lords or pimps or men with guns that take lives away right in front of your eyes. It exists in kids. In Jack. He's evil, Diana, I can just feel it! He needs to be shut away before he does something that he can never take back. But even then, I would never, _never_, wish what J'onn did to him." He drew a shuddering breath before plunging on, seemingly unable to stop. "J'onn has the power to change the world, if he wanted. He could bring the world together or rip in to shreds. It makes me think. . . He's dangerous, there's no question. A ticking time bomb. We only know what he's told us, but do we even know if that's true? He could be something completely different than we think." He shook his head. "All of this…speculation, guessing without knowing for sure. . . I don't like it."

Diana bit her lip as she processed this. "I think," she began slowly. "That J'onn would never do that sort of stuff. And even if he did, we would stop him."

"No, we wouldn't."

Diana frowned. "What do you mean? Of course we would."

"You tell me one way we could stop him and I'll believe you," Bruce snapped. "He would render everyone unconscious immediately, or rip us all limb from limb in an instant. I've gone over every scenario I can think of. Every way, we lose. And if there are Martians that survived the rebellion still on Mars, what's to say they couldn't come here? We are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned. We would all die and there's nothing to stop it."

"What about J'onn's vulnerability to fire?" Diana asked, but Bruce waved her off.

"The only people who know about that are those that were at the warehouse, and if J'onn is smart, he'd kill us first. Unless the government discovered it by accident, they would be blind." Bruce's phone on the foot of the bed lit up. Bruce reached for it and looked at it uninterestedly. "Selina wants me to go shopping with her." He untangled himself from the snuggie and stood. "Tell everyone to get out of my house, including you. I don't want Lois or Wally to accidentally light the kitchen on fire, and Clark and I can finish the movie later."

"So that's it?" Diana asked quietly.

Bruce pasued, hand on the doorknob. "That's what?"

"You don't trust J'onn? End of story?"

"Oh please," Bruce muttered sardonically. "I don't trust anyone." He left the door ajar behind him and after a moment, Diana exited the room after him.

* * *

Black shoes clack on the hall as the tall, bald man strode confidently down the halls of Chesterfield High School with his various assistants and Principal Waller hurrying to keep up behind him.

"Superintendent, can you please slow down?" Waller puffed, putting a hand to her breast as she jogged to stay at the man's direct right.

"What period are the students in?" Lex Luthor asked, ignoring her request as he surveyed the spotless halls.

"Fourth. They just got out of lunch," Waller said, wiping her forehead with a hand.

"Excellent." Luthor nodded. "This is Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Lovely. Shall we?" He gestured to the door. Waller gave him a look, before opening the door for him.

The class was quiet; its students all hunched over books and scribbling notes down every once and a while. A few of the students who had finished were talking quietly amongst themselves. A slightly larger group near the back caught Luthor's attention first. One dark skinned boy and a ebony haired girl were sitting at a desk, while a black haired boy with his back to him was talking to him. Another boy was sitting in the double desk in front of them and reading a large, extremely old looking book, occasionally saying something to the group with a scathing look on his face. Luthor instantly put a name to the face. Bruce Wayne. Wayne's most recent comment made the boy who was standing laugh out loud. He turned around to get someone from the desk behind him and Luthor caught sight of high cheekbones, a cleft chin and blinding blue eyes. Clark Kent. Luthor's insides shriveled up and his own eyes narrowed with contempt.

Kent turned around again, still grinning far too optimistically for Luthor's liking. Wayne looked up as Kent rejoined the group and caught sight of Luthor. His face hardened and he quietly leaned over to whisper something to the group of three. Immediately, the cluster froze, then Kent leapt into the seat next to Wayne and the girl and dark boy looked down at their books with forced interest.

_Pathetic little insects_.

"Kent!" Luthor barked, making the small teacher at the white board jump.

Said boy looked up and forced a bright smile. "Hi, Superintendent Luthor. How are you?"

"Nobody likes a brown nose, Kent!" Luthor barked. He made his way to his desk, rudely bumping into students and chairs alike, not even bothering to apologize. "Carry on, Jervis," he called to Tetch, who jumped again and hurriedly began writing vocabulary on the board.

"What are you up to, Kent?" Luthor asked through an extremely fake smile.

"Haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about," Clark sniffed, flipping through his book one page at a time.

Luthor stifled a snort. "Of course you don't." He eyed the two students behind Clark. "I know Wayne, but who are you two?"

The girl spoke up first. "I'm Diana Prince. And this is John Jones."

"There are a lot of Johns in this grade, but I remember you," Luthor said, extending a hand towards both of them. "The transfer student from Canada, right?"

John nodded, hesitantly reaching out to grab his hand. "That's right."

"I've been to Canada several times. What part of Canada are you from?" Luthor asked, genuinely interested.

The change was instant. John immediately froze up and his mouth opened and closed several times without making so much as a word.

Lex Luthor was not known for his patience. His forehead wrinkled as he stared John down. "What part of Canada are you from?"

"Toronto." Bruce said from next to Clark. John nodded energetically at that statement, visibly relaxing just a bit.

"Ah," Luthor said, now a bit suspicious. "How is the Toronto Zoo? I hear it's fanastic. Have you gone?"

John blanched. "The…zoo?"

Luckily, Luthor's next question was cut off by Tetch's exclamation of "Napier, are you even reading?"

Every head in the class, including Luthor and his associates huddled near the door, revolved to stare at the brown haired boy at the front of the class. Jack was huddled over a ratty cover of _Alice in Wonderland_, but was staring at the wall with a blank look.

"Napier?" Tetch repeated. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Jack said with confusion evident in his voice. "I just feel like there was something I wanted to say to Luthor, but I can't remember." He shook his head and his expression cleared. "Well, I'm out of here," he said briskly. "If I remember it, I'll be back, Super-intend-ent." He drawled out the last word before getting out of his desk, walking over to the window and jumping out of it onto the ground just a story below.

"Hey, hey you!" Luthor shouted, darting to the window, but Jack was gone. "What the -? Tetch, Waller, what is the meaning of this?"

"You get used to it," Tetch told him seriously as Waller said, "We'll find him."

Luthor groaned, mind drifting to the warm shower that awaited him at his mansion.

_Just a few more hours, Lex, come on. That bottle will still be in the cabinet when you finish, just suck it up! _

Luthor turned back to Clark and Bruce and was surprised to see the previous slightly awkward atmosphere of the group had changed dramatically. Bruce had gone rigid in his chair and Clark was sending him nervous looks, while every so often glancing not-so-subtly behind him at John. John's eyes were fixed on the window Jack had just jumped out of with an expression of astonishment and Diana was looking at anything but John. All four looked extremely guilty to be frank.

"Do you four know something that I need to hear?" Luthor asked in a low voice.

"No," Clark said instantly, facing Luthor with a scowl.

"Kent, I recommend you watch your tone with me. Remember last time you lost your temper? Wouldn't want to disappoint your mother again," Luthor said shrewdly.

Clark's furious retort was cut off by the ringing of the bell. Trembling with anger, he snatched his books up and was the first out of the door. Bruce and Diana followed quickly as well with John right behind them, the third still looking mildly horrified.

Luthor remained in the room even as the next class began to file in and his assistants hovered impatiently by the door. Try as he might, he could not shake the four's expressions of complete and utter guilt as they stared after Jack Napier.

That evening, after Luthor finished up his yearly check of Chesterfield High, he popped open a bottle of wine and poured himself a generous amount before sinking into his desk chair. He swiveled and stared out of the large windows in his office that overlooked Gotham City. The city's illuminated skyscrapers stood out harshly against the dark sky and large police blimps cruised past his building, spot lines scanning the ground below for criminal activity. Dimly, Luthor heard police sirens begin to wail throughout the city, but he did not care. His mind was, for some reason, fixed on the uneasy feeling he had gotten in that fourth period AP English Literature and Composition class. Jones face. . . It unnerved him to no end.

He pivoted in his chair to face the desk again and leaned forward to press a button on his phone and said, "Charlotte, is Mercy still out there?"

"Yes, Mr. Luthor, she is. She's just about to leave."

"Send her in." Luthor released the button and relaxed in his chair again.

The doors to his expansive office opened and a tall, brown haired girl entered.

"Yes, Mr. Luthor?" She asked, closing the door and approaching him with the air of someone who is very confident in her actions.

"Mercy, you are in your senior year at Chesterfield High, correct? The one right outside of Gotham?" Luthor questioned, not looking at the girl.

"Yes," Mercy said, now looking confused. "Why?"

Lex stood from behind his desk. "Would you mind doing a little, ah, project for me? Consider it part of your internship."

Mercy instantly looked more interested. "What kind of project?"

"Excellent." Luthor rounded the desk and sidled up next to the girl. "Clark Kent is up to something with John Jones and Bruce Wayne. Find out what it is."

"Any reason why you're interested in them?" Mercy asked.

Luthor reached out to gently play with a piece of Mercy's hair. "I don't trust Kent in the slightest. Not since. . . " He trailed off and let go of her hair abrubtly.

"Since what?"

"Never you mind, my dear," Luthor purred. "Oh, look at the time!" He exclaimed. "You really should be off, shouldn't you? Gotham is dangerous at night and we wouldn't want you getting hurt."

Mercy blushed and shyly ducked her head. "Of course...Lex. I won't fail you," she murmured. "I promise."

"I don't doubt it." Luthor smiled coyly. "Go on now."

Mercy smiled back , before turning and exiting the room quickly. Luthor watched her leave, then crossed back over to his desk and slouched back into his chair. With one hand he loosened his tie ad with the other he poured some more wine into his glass. Mercy was a nice girl, naïve, but sweet. She was utterly devoted to Lex and would most likely lay down her life for him. Perhaps that's what made her such a good undercover agent. No matter what happened, she would always come to his aid. He almost regretted the fact she was a high school intern.

Oh well…

At least now he could find out what those damned kids were up to. He took a sip of his wine and faced the city again. He sat there for a while, drinking the bottle of wine and another one after that, not caring as the sirens outside grew in number and volume. The police blimp hovering over his building swiveled and began heading north. In the distance, Lex could see a fiery orange light shining against the Gotham horizon and the apparent source of the commotion. Gotham City could have burned down at that very moment, but Lex Luthor was so consumed in his wine and thoughts that he would never have cared.

* * *

**A/N: I know what you're thinking. Mercy and Lex, gross. It'll come into play later, I promise. And as for the end, I imagine Lex being a pretty heavy drinker. I don't know why, I just do. It's a headcanon of mine. Blegh. **

**Okay, PLEASE READ THIS PART. I will be on vacation in San Franciso for the next week and a half and will NOT have time to update until I get back. So, bear with me, but the next chapter will be up sometime between the 9th and 14th of July. I'm so sorry! **

**Okay, now that that's done, hope you liked the chapter. As always, reviews are very appreciated! See y'all in a few weeks!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: You remember when I said I'd update between the 9****th**** and the 14****th****? Yea, I lied. I'm sorry, I just was stuck on a major case of writer's block. **

**So, sorry if this extremely late chapter sucks. I had no inspiration. **

**And quickly, to the Anon to asked if I read comics, yes I do. Massive geek here. I read Batman, Superman, Flash, Justice League, Teen Titans and Superboy. But, I also read the biographies of characters that I just don't read so if they come up, I know something and don't sound like a total idiot. **

Chapter 8

Later that week, the end-of-semester exam results came out. Diana was generally very pleased with her scores, though she did score a little lower on her Environmental Science Exam than she would have preferred. Clark had admitted to Diana that he was terrified to look at his math scores, though when she did convince him to look, he nearly screamed when he saw he passed with a mid B, but did even better on his English and History tests, getting near perfect scores. Wally ended up passing the dreaded Psychology exam with a low 80, and true to his word, wired the school's intercom to play the Macarena after school one day and stripped for all – Principal Waller included – to see. Though, he wisely decided to wear a ski mask over his face to hide his identity, and sprinted off the school grounds as soon as the song ended. Waller was furious, and was now, out to uncover the culprit. Somehow, everyone in the school knew it was Wally (Diana suspected Wally had bragged once he had gotten over his initial embarrassment) nobody turned him in. They probably found it as hilarious as Diana did.

"And so, then I made an A on Tetch's exam," Wally was saying to Clark, Diana, J'onn and Bruce during lunch that Thursday. "Which is good, but then I made a C on Isely's test. Ouch. What'd y'all get on that? Don't answer Bruce, we all know you aced every exam, so shut your face."

"A," Clark said, picking through his mashed potato with a squeamish face. "Do you know what this is supposed to be?" He asked, holding up his fork, on which he had speared a chunk of blackened…something.

Diana scrutinized the fork. "Looks like cheese."

"No, that's not cheese," Bruce said, poking the chunk with his own fork. "Looks more like butter and spinach."

"…Gross," Wally said faintly, pushing his own two potatoes with disgust. After a moment of contemplation, he dragged the plate of food back and dug into the potatoes with gusto. Noticing Diana and Clarks' sickened looks, he cried, "Don't judge me. I'm a growing boy and I need my vegetables!"

"Is a potato a vegetable?" J'onn asked.

"I think so… Wait, is it?" Clark bit his lip. "Ahhh, that's going to bug me all day until I figure it out. . . "

"No, it's definitely a vegetable," a new voice cut it.

All heads turned to the head of the table, where a girl was balancing a lunch tray on slender hips. Thin lips that were glossed with pink smirked at them, and gray eyes flashed in a tan, flawless face.

"Um, hi!" Clark, ever the polite one, said brightly after a short uncomfortable silence. "Er, Mercy, right?"

"That's right!" She smiled at them, but it never reached her eyes. They remained a cold, unfriendly gray. "John, right? Canada boy? Sorry, we don't have any classes together."

"I'm in your Pre-Calculus class," J'onn said in a small voice, hunching slightly over his salad.

Mercy's expression faltered, but she regained her composure quickly. "Oh right! You are! Sorry, you don't talk much at all." Her smile grew larger; her eyes grew more calculating.

"Well, it was nice talking to you all. I'll see you around, John, Bruce. Bye Clark." Her eyes lingered on Clark for a fraction of a second to long and her fingers trailed over the table area near him. Then, she turned and stalked away, black heels clacking against the floor before taking a seat on the table directly behind them, her back to the group.

"Am I the only one who thought that was weird?" Diana whispered.

"Nope."

"Not at all."

"I thought she was cute."

Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at Wally. The redhead caught sight of their stares and smiled sheepishly. "Guess it was just me?"

Ignoring Wally, Clark turned to Bruce and J'onn across him. "So, are we meeting up tonight?"

"No, I can't," Bruce said briskly. "Wayne Enterprises wants me to make an appearance at a gala tonight. I won't be at home."

"Why do you go to those things?" Wally asked, spitting chewed potatoes out of his mouth as he spoke. "I mean, you're not a part of the company or anything."

"It's being controlled by the Board of Trustees right now. When I turn eighteen, I'll be expected to take on the role of the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. This is the Board's way of prepping me for the rest of my life." Diana noted he sounded far from happy about this.

"Whatever," Wally shrugged, "So, if the Manor isn't available, no meeting today? We've got nowhere to meet. Don't you dare suggest that warehouse J'onn, it smells like deer crap and it's freezing! I don't know what you Martians are used to, but I freeze my butt off every time I go out there!"

"Well, it _is_ in the middle of a forest." Diana laughed. "How about Clark's house?"

"No," J'onn said suddenly. "I think I am tired today, and I will go back to my, ah, home."

Clark nodded. "That's cool too. I'll take Lois out to see that new Alien movie. What's it called? _Prometheus,_ right? Wally, Diana, you want to come?"

Diana shook her head. "Can't. My mom put me on minor lockdown after the, er, thing that happened over break. . ." Her voice trailed off as her expression plummeted into misery.

Instantly, Clark rushed to her aid. "No problem, that's fine. Wally, you ask some girl and come. It'll be fun! Double date, you know?"

Wally tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You think Frances Kane will go with me?" He asked as the shrill bell rang out, signaling the end of lunch.

"I doubt it. You did sort of dump her, horribly I might add, in the eighth grade," Clark told him pointedly as she threw away his trash. "How about Tina McGee? She's pretty. . . "

Neither of them noticed Mercy sitting at the table behind theirs, head cocked slightly towards them, listening to every word. She revolved in her seat and examined J'onn with narrowed eyes as he exited the cafeteria. Casually, she withdrew her cell phone from her pocket and put it to her head. A second passed then, "Mr. Luthor. Sorry to disturb you, but I think I may have something for you . . . "

Mercy Graves watched the trio across the street with narrowed eyes. She saw Kent laugh and clap Jones on the shoulder. Wayne said something to Kent with a dark look as he turned up the collar of his coat. Kent nodded and waved goodbye to Jones. Wayne gave the darker boy a faint smile before the two strode away, leaving J'onn alone in front of the school.

Jones looked after Kent and Wayne for a minute, then turned and walked in the opposite direction in a medium pace. Mercy followed, slower than Jones, but still keeping an eye on him. She pulled her hood lower over her face and drew her scarf tighter. At this distance, the boy could never recognize her, but she wanted to be safe.

_Come on Jones, what's your secret? I bet it has to do with that warehouse that redheaded idiot mentioned during lunch. But then again, he did call Jones a Martian. I mean, really? Mars? Idiot. . . _

Jones passed out of the safely guarded community around the high school and headed west.

_What the hell? Why is he going towards the dump? _ Mercy thought, brow wrinkling in confusion. Nevertheless, she continued to follow him.

After a few minutes of steady walking, Jones suddenly veered off the road and ducked behind a block of apartments. Mercy hesitated for a minute, but reluctantly plunged ahead. She could barely make out Jones's form as he slipped into a dark tangle of woods ahead of her. Struggling to keep up, she entered the trees as well, slipping in her heels.

_Damn, I knew I should have brought my boots. Where the hell is this freak going? There is no warehouse out here-oh._

She stopped dead in her tracks when she came to a clearing where a dark, clearly abandoned warehouse building was.

_What is Jones doing here? _

Her eyes quickly scanned the area, but Jones had mysteriously disappeared. Groaning, Mercy wrapped her arms around her body for warmth as she picked her way to the building. Squinting against the light shining through the bare trees above, Mercy scrutinized the warehouse.

_Where could he have gone?_

A sudden crash from inside made her jump. Exerting caution, Mercy tip toed around the side of the building and peered around the corner. Nobody. Staying close to the wall, she looked through the various windows and gaping holes in the warehouse's side. No sign of anyone. Another crash somewhere to her right pulled her over in that direction. Through a crumbling hole in the wall, Mercy could see large crates being moved in every direction and a human shadow cast against the far wall.

Ignoring the shadow of doubt that had suddenly appeared in the back of her mind, Mercy crept towards the hole and yanked her phone out of her pocket. In two quick taps, the camera was out and focused on the room inside the warehouse. She shifted slightly, straining to get a view amid the large crates that were – Mercy did a double take, and nearly dropped her phone in shock –_ floating_ from one stack to another. Two crates floated nearly twenty feet up into the air before landing neatly against the far wall, one on top of another. With the center of the room cleared, Mercy had a perfect view. In the middle of the stacks of crates was Jones, eyes closed and palms up to the sky. Under different circumstances, Mercy probably would have laughed. But instead, her eyes were glued to him as he slowly lowered his head and resumed a normal posture. Mercy switched her phone to video and zeroed it in on Jones, as he opened his eyes. This time, she nearly screamed. At this distance, she could tell that his normally dark eyes were a complete glowing red.

The next thing happened so fast she barely saw it. One second John Jones was standing there in the middle of a room, the next, his form had twisted and morphed into a taller, vivid green creature. This - there was no other word Mercy could find appropriate - _alien_ straightened and surveyed the room, its eyes looking like it was seeking something, some_one_.

As soon as its back was turned, Mercy stood up and ran like hell. Stumbling madly through the darkening forest, Mercy fumbled with her phone. With short, frantic taps, she typed " GOT IT" into a message, attached the video of the transformation to the text and clicked send.

Lex Luthor leaned back in his chair, eyes wide at the cellular device in his hand. He hit the replay button. Again and again, he watched the quiet, dark skinned boy from Canada's form warp and turn into the green skinned monster. No…not monster. That term was for old film noirs and Pixar movies. This thing was an alien. Martian, Mercy had told him.

He still couldn't believe it. Aliens from Mars. _Mars. _Lex had always known they were out there. I mean, who didn't think that these days? But to have one, in Rhode Island, in his town, at one of his schools. . . It was incredible.

But what was he going to do now? Mercy had told him that the alien could move things with his mind. There's no telling what else it could do! It could have super strength or mental powers or the ability to kill a person instantly with a mere thought. To confront Jones about it upfront would most probably end in death for Lex.

So what would he do? Lex thumbed through pages on his phone. Stocks, weather, contacts. Using his index finger, he absentmindedly scrolled through his list of numbers. Thousands of names and businesses. Contacts in the mayor's office, in the Gotham Police Department. CEOs, politicians, journalists. He stopped suddenly, finger hovering over a name. That was it. Aliens like this, like _that_, must be stopped. Who knew how many more were out there? Jones could just be the first of an invasion.

The finger swooped down on the screen and an instant later, Lex was pressing the phone to his ear.

"Hello, General Lane? Yes, it's Lex Luthor. From Rhode Island. Yes, yes, it's been a long time. Last time we saw each other was at the U.S. Army Christmas gala in Vermont last December, right? Hah, yes, that was fun. Listen, I'm actually calling on an extremely serious note. What I'm about to tell you may sound incredibly strange, but I guarantee you, it's a matter that must be dealt with at once, or the entire Earth may be put in peril. . . "

**A/N: Yes, General Sam Lane is an actual person in comics. He is the father of a certain someone, but not everyone knows that… Points to whoever does get it!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the repeated lateness. I just cannot find inspiration for this story.  
But, I got this one out and again, will try my best to have the next chapter up by this Saturday. No promises though.  
Enjoy!**

Chapter 9

Right away, Diana could tell something was wrong. She couldn't quite place it, but it was the feeling that someone knew something they shouldn't know. That feeling was only heightened when she saw Mercy Graves leering at her from across the hallway in passing period. The girl's gray eyes narrowed with contempt upon seeing her, but she smiled and waved. Diana waved unsurely back, to which Mercy laughed and turned back to her locker.

Diana's brow wrinkled. _Weird… _Pushing it out of her mind, she turned away and closed her locker.

"Hey," she murmured as she dropped into her seat in English next to J'onn. "Did something happen that I'm not aware of?"

J'onn didn't look up from his book. "Not that I know of. Why?"

"I dunno," Diana said as she removed her binder from her bag. "Mercy was just acting…weird. Friendly, but in that unsettling sort of way."

J'onn's head tilted ever so slightly in her direction. "Was she?" His lips pursed. "Odd. . ."

He didn't speak another word for the rest of the period.

"Diana!" Wally crowed, nearly tackling her as she, J'onn, Clark and Bruce exited English. "Hi!"

"Hi, Wally!" Diana laughed, shaking him off easily.

"No!" Wally shouted, putting a finger to her lips. "Not Wally. Call me…the Flash!"

Instantly, Clark and Diana burst out laughing.

Between peals of laughter, Clark gasped "I'm not calling you that! It sounds like some sort of stripper name!"

Wally's eyes widened. "No, it's because of track," he insisted, pouting slightly. "Coach officially told me I was the fastest runner he's ever trained!"

"Right."

"I seem to recall you in sixth grade wanting to be called Superman because you could hold your breath for three minutes without passing out," Wally said, adjusting his shirt collar nonchalantly.

Clark blushed. "I was eleven. Give me a break."

"Whatever you say, _Superman_."

"Oh, shut up."

"Will you both be quiet?" Bruce griped. "You're annoying me."

"When are we not?" Wally muttered to Diana under his breath.

"West, I am warning you. If you don't shut up, I will shove this pencil up your ass, you hear me?"

"Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Wally said in a sing-song voice, scooting away from Bruce and closer to Clark. A second later, Wally yelped as Bruce lobbed his book at him over his shoulder and it hit the redhead squarely on his nose.

"Come on, Wally," Diana said, tugging the wincing boy along. "Do you want to eat outside on the soccer field? It's a nice day. Clark?" She looked to the taller boy.

"I'm game," Clark said. "Bruce, you in?"

Bruce said nothing, just shouldered his backpack and headed towards the side doors.

Clark sighed. "Let's go."

"Wait! Hey!" An extremely muscular blonde boy was jogging through the sea of students towards them. "John Jones," he panted. "Principal Waller wants to see you." He glowered at Clark for a second, and then continued. "I'd head over there now. Superintendent Luthor was there too."

J'onn sighed. "Alright. I will get there as soon as I can. Just let me put-"

"He said now, Jones," the boy repeated, now a definite threat in his voice.

"Hey, Corben," Clark said, stepping forward. "Relax. He'll get his stuff out of his locker and be up there in a minute." He placed a warning hand on Corben's shoulder.

"Get your hands off me, Kent," Corben snarled, jerking out of Clark's grip. "And it's not just his problem. You're coming too. All three of you are."

"Wait, what?" Clark took a step back. "What did we do?"

"I dunno." Corben shrugged. "What did you do?" He turned and starting walking down the hall. "I'd be careful, Kent. You know Luthor doesn't like you. Just... mind your temper this time."

Clark groaned. "Come on, we better go up there. We can eat lunch later." Scowling, he started in the direction of the offices.

"What was that guy's problem with Clark?" Diana whispered to Wally as they followed Clark down the hall.

Wally snorted. "I forgot how much you don't know. You think you would have picked up on this stuff by now… That was John Corben. One of the many guys at this school who really hate Clark Kent. We call him Metallo because he's like a freight train on the lacrosse team."

"Hm." Diana shot a look at Clark's back. "Why do so many people hate Clark?"

Wally laughed this time. "Because he's Mr. Do-Gooder-Clark. He catches people in their acts of evil and calls them out for it. Clark caught Corben doing steroids in sophomore year and got him thrown off the lacrosse team. True, Corben was asked back a year later, because that's because his dad payed the school board off. Or, so I heard."

Clark turned ahead and stopped in front of the Principal's door. To Diana's complete and utter shock, two U.S. Army soldiers were guarding the door, next to which were Selina, Lois and John Stewart. Clark approached Lois and whispered something in her ear urgently, giving the soldiers nervous looks. Lois responded with a worried look and hugged him briefly. Selina and Bruce exchanged a quick 'do-you-know-what's-going-on-and-are-you-okay' look before averting eyes from each other.

The door opened and Principal Waller poked her head out. "Good, you're all here. Come inside." She did not smile.

One by one they filed in, with Bruce bringing up the rear. Inside, the small office was packed. Lex Luthor lounged in Waller's chair casually, feet propped up on the desk as he sipped a glass of scotch. Behind the desk, a tall, older gentleman in a U.S. Army uniform stood stock still against the wall, and four others sergeants were on either side of him. Luthor looked up as they entered and smiled, but Diana immediately caught sight of the fear in his eyes.

"Hello there," he said, standing up gesturing to the two small rows of chairs in front of him. The motion was meant to be friendly, but Diana could sense the resentment and nervousness seeping off of him.

"Dad?" Lois said in confusion to the older gentleman. "What are you doing here?"

_Lois' dad is in the military? _Diana thought. _I didn't know that…_

"Lois, sit down," he said firmly. Catching sight of his daughter's persistent look, he snapped, "Now, Lois."

Exchanging looks, the six took their seats and looked to Luthor expectantly.

The bald man did nothing for a moment, then smiled even larger and said, "Well I won't put anything off and get right to the point. We know."

A jolt of terror went through Diana. They couldn't possibly. . .

"Know what?" Clark asked, voice strong despite his obvious sudden worry.

"About your Martian friend!" The older man snapped suddenly from behind Luthor.

The six students fell silent.

Then, with obvious forced calmness, Bruce asked, "And who are you?"

"General Lane of the U.S. Army," Luthor said smoothly. "Now, what are we going to do with you?" His tone suddenly became cold and powerful.

"Martians," Bruce scoffed. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it, Mr. Wayne? Is it?" Luthor whispered. He slipped around the desk and bent down next to Clark. "How 'bout it, Kent? You want to tell me something?"

Clark's mouth opened and closed several times without sound.

"Kent." Luthor whispered. "I know you can't lie. It doesn't even matter now; we know that if you deny it, you're wrong. And, lying to a military officer is a federal offense, you know."

Clark's eyes were smoldering with rage as he looked at Luthor. Diana begged him not to say anything, nothing that would get them in even deeper trouble than they were already in. Just, Clark… Keep your temper in check.

"Lex, it doesn't even matter if they admit to it or not!" General Lane burst out angrily. "We have the footage of the Martian-"

"Wait, footage?" Wally interrupted.

"Courtesy of Miss Graves, of course," Luthor simpered. He crossed back to the desk and revolved the computer monitor. Two clicks on the keyboard and a video appeared. Shadowy fumbling at first, then it focused and J'onn came into focus. He did nothing for a second, then he transformed and his Martian form appeared. Diana swore and sunk back into her chair in defeat.

_Shit, shit, shit, shhiittttt. _

Around her, her friends were reacting as well. John and Lois had jerked back into their chairs with looks of shock; Selina had shifted ever so slightly in her chair and her face had taken on the look of an animal ready to bolt at the slightest sign of aggression; Clark had frozen in his chair and was staring at the monitor with an open mouth and Bruce had leaned back with a look of quiet fury on his face. J'onn himself had tensed up; his eyes had dilated and he was looking more and more defensive every moment.

"You see," General Lane said. "We already know everything." He glanced at the small assembly of guards briefly. "Take them into custody, except for Lois." His gaze hardened as he looked at his daughter.

"What-no!" Lois cried, standing up from her chair. "Dad, you can't-"

"I can and I will, now sit down."

Lois, though fuming, obeyed her father. The soldiers moved forward and with barely any struggle, quickly put the students in handcuffs. Only Selina resisted. She lashed out a bit at the soldiers as they approached her, but calmed down slightly when Bruce spoke softly, yet sharply to her. Clark was nearly motionless as the soldiers filed them out of the office.

"He's a kid, Luthor," Clark whispered suddenly right before he stepped out of the room. "A kid!" He shouted the last word. "He's one of your students and you're sending him right into the pits of hell-"

"No," Luthor interrupted. "He's an alien and he's threatening the safety of Earth. Get them out of here."

Clark's shouts of rage faded into muttered threats and curses as the soldiers led them out of the school. They took a back entrance as to avoid the questions that would have arisen if they took the main hall, and exited out of the drop off door. Outside were two Army holding trucks, both of them open. Now being rough, the soldiers yanked them over to one of the trucks, save for J'onn, whom they dragged to the second.

"Hey!" Clark shouted, straining against the soldier who led him. "What are you-?" His voice was cut off as the soldier shoved his head forward with a snarl.

"Keep quiet, kid."

The truck was cold and windowless, lined with fluorescent lights and hard benches. The five were sat forcefully down on the seats and were soon joined by three armed soldiers. With a thump, the doors were shut and bolted, and a second later, the dull rumble of an engine filled the air. The truck jolted forward, bumpy and uneven at first, but soon evened out.

"Where are you taking us?" Bruce asked in a monotone voice.

"Airport," one of the soldiers said shortly.

"And then?" Bruce prompted.

"Washington, D.C."

"Great," Wally muttered. "Always wanted to go to the capital."

"Be quiet," another soldier commanded and they immediately fell silent.

Twenty minutes later, the truck came to a stop and the doors opened. Wincing against the bright light, Diana was able to make out the tall towers and buildings of the Gotham Airport, before she was being roughly pulled out of the vehicle and onto an Army plane. She was shoved into a seat between Bruce and Clark.

They were ordered not to speak for the entirety of the flight. Diana took this time to observe her classmates. She couldn't see Wally's body, but his face was pale and he was chewing on his lips nervously. John had fallen into a rigid stance, hands clenched in his lap and jaw locked. Selina, on the other hand, was equally tense, but her fingers tapped at her handcuffs respectively, as if searching for a way to unlock them. Her green eyes darted from side to side rapidly, probably looking for an exit. Clark had sunken down a bit; his head was cocked and eyes unfocused. He looked deep in thought, but at the same time, Diana noticed the rigid lines of muscles poised to react at any moment. She let her eyes travel to her other side to Bruce. The ebony haired boy's eyes were closed and he was taking deep breaths every few seconds, but, he too, was positioned to defend himself at any moment.

"I'm sorry," Diana heard Clark whisper quietly from her other side.

"Why?" Diana whispered back, keeping an eye on the soldiers around the plane.

Clark's brow wrinkled. "I dunno, I just felt like I should say sorry. . ."

"Well, don't," Bruce muttered from her left. "It's annoying and will do us no favors."

"What do you think they're going to do to us?" Wally asked in an undertone. "I really don't want to die. I'm young and have too much to live for-"

He was cut off by a guard's loud yell of, "Quiet!"

"Prepare for descent," the pilot's voice said over the intercom.

Diana felt the plane tilt ever so slightly and begin its descent. Quickly, she stole a glance at her friends. Wally's face had paled even more and his lip was starting to bleed. Selina was still hunched over and eyeing the cabin with wild eyes. John and Bruce hadn't moved, but Clark had straightened in his seat; a muscle was jumping in his jaw and his eyes were fiery with anger and determination.

A few minutes later, the plane touched ground with a jolt and slowed to a crawl. Diana felt her heartbeat pick up pace in her nervousness. There was another jerk as the plane came to a stop and a bang as something connected with it from the outside. The jet way. Diana was pulled roughly to her feet and shoved towards the door.

They were led off the plane into an aircraft hangar. Curious eyes peered at them as the group was led through a crowd of military officers and stern looking men in business suits. Then, the hangar was replaced by a gray windowless hallway lined on either side with doors.

"In here," one soldier commanded, opening a door to their left.

The room through the door was another short hallway, this one with a metal detector in it.

"Hand over any cell phones or technological devices and remove any metal objects you have on you," the same soldier commanded, unlocking their handcuffs one at a time.

Diana quickly slipped her phone out from her pocket and handed it over to another soldier reluctantly. She removed her earrings and gave them to the soldier quietly. Then, she walked through the metal detector, half expecting it to go off. It did not. A second later, the whole group was through, and their handcuffs were clipped back around their wrists.

They were led out of the hall, up a short flight of stairs, around a corner, before they stopped in front of a metal door. Several locks were unlocked with dull thuds, and then the group was led inside.

It was a somewhat large cell, windowless like the hallway, and empty except for a table and four chairs. Diana noted the cameras in every corner and in front of the door. Perfect coverage of the whole room.

Her handcuffs, along with the others, were undone and the soldiers left without a word. A second later, the door opened again and Lois entered, tightlipped and scowling.

"Hey!" Clark shouted as the door was closing. "Are you just going to leave us-oh, forget it." He collapsed in a chair with his head in his hands. "Ma's going to kill me."

"Seriously? That's what you're worried about?" Wally asked in disbelief. "We were just arrested by the Army! The freakin' Army! And you're worried about your mother?"

"Oh shut up, West," Selina said, examining her nails with a careful eye as she slipped into a chair. "It's just in Clark's nature to worry about his mother."

"Selina," Lois said, turning to said girl. "Why are you such a bitch?"

"Coming from you? Oh, that's rich!" Selina muttered, forgetting her nails for a moment as she lifted her eyes to Lois.

"How am I the bitch here, pray tell?" Lois asked politely, but Diana could see the anger growing on her face.

"You just are!" Selina cried. "You have dirt on everyone and you don't hesitate about putting half of it in that damn paper of yours! I wouldn't be surprised if you had something over Clark and just blackmailed him into going out with you-"

"Okay, that's uncalled for," John interjected. "Selina, just stop."

"No, why should I?" Selina snapped. "Lois' father is a general in the Army! She could have gotten us out of this whole mess!"

"Don't blame anything on Lois!" Clark shouted, standing up from his chair. "She couldn't have done anything! This is all Luthor and Mercy's fault. No one else's."

"Fine! Maybe it's not Lois' damn fault. How about this is all J'onn's fault for leaving Mars in the first place?!" Selina retorted. "If he hadn't been stupid enough to come here, we would all be home instead of in a fucking cell!"

"Selina, shut the hell up." Bruce's quiet voice broke into her ranting.

She stopped shouting and looked at him incredulously. "Bruce? Come on, you can't tell me this isn't partially the alien's fault."

"Yes, it's J'onn's fault for not being more mindful of his surroundings, but he did not intentionally give himself up. Who in their right mind would? No one." Bruce looked his girlfriend straight in the eyes coldly. "Now, you need to stop fighting with us just because you're angry. It won't help any of us."

"But-"

"Selina," Bruce warned.

Her green eyes narrowed. "Fine. " She slouched in her chair and refused to look at anyone, eyes back to examining her nails.

Ignoring the girl pointedly, Clark asked, "What do you think they're going to do with us?" Lois had made her way over to him and had dragged another chair over next to his. Her head had tipped onto his shoulder and her hands had intertwined themselves in his.

"I assume they're going to interrogate us, then, well," Bruce faltered. "I don't know."

"Are they going to kill us?" Wally whispered.

Bruce shot him a scathing glare. "Don't be ridiculous. They're not going to kill us." He turned his back to the group and started to examine the door with interest.

"You're awfully quiet," John muttered to Diana. "Haven't said much for a while."

"Nothing to say," Diana said quietly.

John eyed her for minute. "Okay, what's on your mind?" He asked after a moment.

Diana sighed and leaned against the cold wall, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I'm worried. About me, about us, about J'onn. What do you think they're going to do with him?"

John was silent for a minute. "I don't know," he said finally.

The sound of locks being undone suddenly echoed through the room, and the door swung open. Two soldiers entered, faces impassive and jaws tight.

"Lois Lane and John Stewart, come with us," the soldier on the right commanded.

John nodded quickly to Diana before walking over to the soldiers. Lois disentangled herself from Clark, and after giving him a kiss, followed the boy. A second later, the door banged shut again.

Nobody really felt like talking after that. Wally occasionally tried to make conversation with Clark, but Clark silenced the redhead every time with an uncharacteristically dark look. Selina had lapsed into a moody silence, not even looking at Bruce, who had resumed his examination of the door.

Sometime later- if Diana had to guess, she would say about an hour- the door opened again and two different soldiers stepped in, this time asking for Wally West, Clark Kent and Selina Kyle. Wally looked like he wanted to pass out, but put on a smile as he walked towards the door, stumbling slightly as he did so. Clark smiled weakly at Selina and exchanged a hurried look with Bruce before exiting. Selina did not even look at Bruce as she left.

Then it was just Bruce and Diana. Diana was still huddled against the wall, and Bruce had finally given up on examining the cell for any means of escape and had taken a seat at the table a few minutes before Clark and Selina departed. Nervously, Diana quietly made her way over to Clark's discarded chair and sat down, eyes fixed on Bruce.

"Don't do that," Bruce suddenly said, breaking the silence harshly.

"Do what?" Diana asked, brow wrinkling.

"Don't look at me like that," Bruce said, meeting her eyes, his own like chips of gray ice.

"I'm not looking at you like anything-" Diana started, but Bruce cut her off.

"Don't take me to be an idiot, Diana. I know you still have feelings for me. Why shouldn't you? Just because you broke up with that man opens doors for you, does it not?"

Diana was confused. "Um, what?"

Bruce sighed and leaned forward in his chair. "This needs to stop Diana. Now."

"Why?" Diana instantly regretted her words, recognizing how purely desperate she sounded.

"Because we are in the middle of a crisis. Because I am with Selina. Because I have no feelings for you whatsoever," Bruce said coldly.

His words hit Diana like bullets. She opened and closed her mouth several times, but could not find any words to say what she was feeling.

Running his hands through his hair, Bruce said, "Look, Diana. I have, and believe me on this, the utmost respect for you. I think you're beautiful and strong-willed and lovely, but that is all." His voice contained a note of finality that Diana recognized with a sinking spirit.

They did not talk for a few minutes. Then, Diana asked, "Can I ask you something?'

"I'm assuming you mean something other than what you just asked me, but yes, what is it?"

"Why did you transfer out of Gotham Academy?"

Bruce looked at her in surprise. "Why do you want to know that?'

Diana shrugged. "I just always wondered. You're Bruce Wayne. You should be at Gotham Academy, right? That's where all the rich kids go."

Bruce sighed. "Well, there's the answer to your question. All the rich kids go there."

"What?"

"Do we have to dig into my backstory now?" Bruce groaned, shifting in his chair quietly.

"Well, we have a while before they come back for us, so, yes," Diana said.

"How about this?" Bruce said, tipping his chair backwards so that it was balancing on its back legs. "You ask me one question, then I ask you one until the gaurds come back. So, then it's fair. "

Diana snorted. "You sounded remarkably like a seven year old boy there. But okay. Answer my question. Why did you come to Chesterfield High?"

Bruce gazed at the ceiling as he thought. "Everyone in Gotham knows about me. About my childhood and what…happened." His chair hit the floor with a bang. "They think that's all there is to me, that I'm just a rich kid whose parents were murdered when he was a kid. They only wanted to be friends with me because they thought I was interesting, or, if it was a girl, her parents wanted us to fall in love and join Wayne Enterprises with whatever company she was representing. Chesterfield was a way to escape all that."

"But everyone in Chesterfield knows you too…"

"Not like at Gotham Academy. They know me, but they don't, or didn't, know everything about my past. They found out eventually, and by sophomore year, everyone knew. But it didn't matter. I'd made friends…" Bruce trailed off. "Now a question for you. Why didn't you join cheerleading?"

Diana let out another snort. "Believe me, Dinah and Clark tried to get me in there. But, I dunno, I decided it didn't appeal to me. I can't believe that's your question. Okay, what do you want do once you graduate college?"

"Oh, there's an original question. And I told you, I'm first in line to be CEO of Wayne Enterprises." Bruce smiled humorlessly. "My future is already set."

"No," Diana said. "I mean, what do you _want_ to do once you graduate college /"

Bruce fell silent. "I don't know," he admitted after a moment. "I like to go into police work... no, be a private investigator." He smiled again, this time with meaning.

Diana laughed. "What, like a detective? Okay, _Sherlock Holmes_."

"Oh please, I'd be better than Sherlock Holmes," Bruce scoffed. "Hmmm, what do you want to do?"

Diana opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by the door opening again. A soldier, female this time, entered and beckoned wordlessly to the pair. Diana and Bruce exchanged looks, then got up from the table and followed the solder out of the cell. Another soldier was outside with two pairs of handcuffs, which he proceeded to clip around Bruce and Diana's wrists.

"This way," the man grunted.

The two soldiers led them down the hall to an elevator, which slid open as soon as the female soldier pressed the button.

"You are about to be interrogated for your involvement with the Martian," the female soldier said, not looking at Bruce or Diana as the elevator doors closed. "You will answer every question truthfully. If you don't, we will know. We will be monitoring each of you as you are questioned. We already caught one of friends as she tried to deny the charges."

"Selina?" Bruce asked abruptly. "Is she-"

"She's fine. We didn't do anything. Just warned her not to do it again," the other soldier said sourly.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened to reveal an almost identical hallway lined with more metal doors. The two guards led them down the hall a short bit, before pulling open a door on the left.

A smaller room made of glass was inside. More soldiers lined the walls and several officers were pouring over computer monitors in front of her. Diana caught sight of Clark being led through another door on the far wall. He was looking shaky, but gave her a nod as he caught sight of her.

"Which one do you want, sir?" The woman asked, presenting Bruce and Diana to one of the officers at the computers.

The man in question looked up, eyeing the two teenagers before saying, "Prince first, then Wayne."

"Sir, yes, sir."

Diana was seized by a completely different soldier and practically dragged over to a door in the glass wall. Bruce, on the other hand, was pulled to another door and disappeared without another look to Diana.

The glass interrogation room was empty, save for table identical to the one in their cell and two chairs. Diana was sat down roughly in one of the chairs and left there alone.

_Crap, _she thought, glancing around the room quietly. She briefly wonderd about what they would ask her about. Did they know about Steve? _Stop that,_ she quickly reprimended herself._ How would they even know about that? And if they did, why would they care?_

The door opened again and Diana nearly fell out of her chair in fright. Entering was possibly one of the most frightening men Diana had ever seen. He was tall, taller than Clark even, with broad shoulders and a square jaw. Slightly greasy looking black hair fell to his shoulders that matched with the rough mustache and goatee he sported. He was dressed in a sleek business suit, but this only seemed to amplify the sheer volume of power and fear he gave off.

Smiling coldly at Diana, he said, "Hello, Miss Prince. I'll be the one questioning you this evening. My name is Vandal Savage."

**A/N: And there you have it. Chapter 9 of this story. I actually liked this one a lot…  
Okay. Let's be serious now. I know there at least 124 of you who have read at least the last chapter, and it's got quite a few followers. And yet, I got three reviews for the last chapter. I'm not begging for reviews. But, they would be nice and would definatly motivate me into writing. Just sayin'. As any author will tell you, reivews are apprecated. **


	10. Author's Note

**A/N: First of all, I want to apologize on how long it is taking me to finish Chapter 10. I have no real excuse this time, save for that I have had a mixture of extreme writer's block and lack of motivation for this story. I really am sorry. I have everything planned and it's about halfway written, but it's just been sitting in my documents for weeks now, unfinished. I will try to get it done as soon as a possibly can without it being a terrible chapter. So, I'm thinking early next week at the earliest. If I don't have it up by Tuesday, you all have permission to badger me until I get it done. **

** Thank you all for sticking with me and – hopefully – not completely given up on this story. **

** - ArtistKat**


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